JBRARY 

DIVERSITY  OF 
>LIFORNIA 
»-NTA    CRUZ 


Gift  Of 
MARION   R.   WALKER 

in  memory  of  his  grandfather 
THE  HON.  MARION  CANNON  :• 
M.C.  1892-94  i 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESSES 


LIFE  AND  CHARACTER 


(A    SENATOR    FROM   \A^EST  VIRGINIA), 


]>KUVKRE1>    IN    THK 


SENATH  AND  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES, 


FEBRUARY  27  AND  MARCH  2,  1893. 


PUBLISHED    BY    ORDER   OF    CONGRESS. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVKRNMENT    PRINTING    OFFICE. 
I893. 


Resolved  by  the  House  of  Reprexentatirea  (the  Senate  concurring),  That  there 
be  printed  of  the  eulogies  delivered  in  Congress  upon  the  Hon.  JOHN  E. 
KENNA,  late  a  Senator  from  the  State  of  West  Virginia,  8,000  copies,  of 
which  2,000  copies  shall  be  delivered  to  the  Senators  and  Representatives 
of  that  State,  and  of  the  remaining  number,  2,000  shall  be  for  the  use  of 
the  Senate  and  4,000  copies  for  the  use  of  the  House;  and  of  the  quota  of 
the  Senate  the  Public  Printer  shall  set  aside  50  copies,  which  he  shall  have 
bound  in  full  morocco  with  gilt  edges,  the  same  to  be  delivered,  when  com- 
pleted, to  the  family  of  the  deceased ;  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  is 
hereby  directed  to  have  engraved  and  printed,  at  the  earliest  day  practi- 
cable, a  portrait  of  the  deceased  to  accompany  such  eulogies. 


l 


E 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Biographical  sketch  of  Senator  Kenna 5 

Announcements  of  his  death  : 

In  the  Senate - 11 

In  the  House  of  Representatives 14 

Funeral  ceremonies  in  the  Senate  Chamber 19 

Sermon  of  Bibhop  Keane 23 

Proceeding*  at  Charleston,    West  Virginia. 

Action  of  the  legislature : 29 

Funeral  services 32 

Act  providing  for  a  statue 1 37 

Proceedings  in  the  Senate. 

Address  of  Mr.  Faulkner,  of  West  Virginia 39 

Mr.  Frye,  of  Maine 51 

Mr.  Gorman,  of  Maryland 56 

Mr.  Blackburn,  of  Kentucky 61 

Mr.  Cullom,  of  Illinois 64 

Mr.  Gray,  of  Delaware 67 

Mr.  Vest,  of  Missouri 70 

Mr.  Stewart,  of  Nevada 71 

Mr.  Daniel,  of  Virginia 73 

Mr.  Hawley,  of  Connecticut 79 

Mr.  Camden,  of  West  Virginia 80 

Proceedings  in  the  House  of  Keprexentatives.- 

Address  of  Mr.  Alderson,  of  West  Virginia 89 

Mr.  Binghaiu,  of  Pennsylvania 95 

Mr.  Hooker,  of  Mississippi 97 

Mr.  Wilson,  of  Missouri 108 

Mr.  Pendleton,,  of  West  Virginia Ill 

Mr.  Covert,  of  New  York 114 

Mr.  Caruth,  of  Kentucky 117 

Mr.  Fellows,  of  New  York 122 

Mr.  Springer,  of  Illinois 124 

Mr.  Mansur,  of  Missouri 126 

Mr.  Wilson,  of  West  Virginia 131 

3 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

JOHN  EDWARD  KENNA,  Senator  from  West  Virginia,  died 
at  his  residence,  No.  130  B  street  northeast,  Washington,  D. 
C.,  about  3  o'clock  a.  m.,  January  11,  1893. 

For  several  years  he  had  been  a  sufferer  from  the  disease — 
an  enlargement  of  the  heart — which  terminated  fatally.  His 
death,  while  not  wholly  unexpected,  came  with  the  sudden- 
ness of  a  great  shock  to  friends  who  had  cherished  the  hope 
that  an  improvement  in  his  condition  which  was  noticed  a  few 
days  before  the  end  came  would  at  least  prolong  his  life  if, 
indeed,  it  did  not  lead  to  a  permanent  recovery. 

Mr.  KENNA  was  born  in  Yalcoulon,  Kanawha  County,  Vir 
giuia  (now  West  Virginia),  April  10, 1848.  His  father,  Edward 
Kenna,  a  native  of  Ireland,  came  to  the  United  States  when  14 
years  of  age  and  secured  employment  at  Natchez,  Miss.,  subse- 
quently removing  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where,  after  a  brief  busi- 
ness experience,  he  began  the  study  of  the  law.  In  1847  Edward 
Kenna  married  Margery,  the  only  daughter  of  John  Lewis,  of 
Kanawha  County,  Va.,  a  grandson  of  Gen.  Andrew  Lewis, 
a  man  famous  in  the  early  history  of  Virginia  and  one  of  a 
family  of  marked  distinction  in  the  annals  of  the  Old  Dominion. 
This  marriage  led  to  Mr.  Kenna's  removal  to  Kanawha  County, 
Va.,  where  he  successfully  pursued  the  practice  of  the  law  and 
gained  an  extended  reputation  as  a  public  speaker.  In  1856, 
when  only  39  years  of  age,  he  died,  leaving  three  children,  two 
daughters  and  one  son,  JOHN  EDWARD  KENNA.  aged  eight 
years.  Left  in  straitened  circumstances,  Mrs.  Kenna  removed, 

5 


6  Biographical  Sketch. 

in  1858,  to  Missouri,  where  her  brother  resided.  Residing 
upon  a  farm  in  a  section  not  then  developed,  young  KENNA 
had  few  opportunities  for  acquiring  an  education.  He  worked 
on  a  farm  with  Mr.  Lewis,  his  uncle,  and  in  after  years  referred 
to  the  fact  that  he  could  look  with  pride  upon  one  of  the  finest 
plantations  in  Missouri  which  he  had  helped  to  redeem  from 
its  natural  state  with  a  prairie  plow  and  four  yoke  of  oxen 
when  he  was  but  eleven  years  of  age. 

When  sixteen  years  of  age  Mr.  KENNA  enlisted  in  the  Con- 
federate army  and  followed  its  fortunes  to  the  end  of  the  war. 
While  serving  in  Gen.  Shelby's  brigade  he  was  badly  wounded 
in  the  shoulder  and  arm,  but  declined  to  be  retired  on  account 
of  his  wounds  and  continued  in  active  service.  One  who  has 
written  with  true  appreciation  of  his  character  says  of  this 
period  of  his  life:  "In  all  the  constant  and  pressing  march, 
though  but  16  years  of  age  and  suffering  from  his  wounds,  he 
never  failed  of  a  task  that  any  other  soldier  performed  and 
never  lost  a  day  from  active  service."  The  command  to  which 
he  was  attached  retreated  from  Missouri  into  Arkansas, 
encountering  hardships  that  are  indescribable.  The  severe 
exposures  of  the  hurried  march  could  not  break  the  spirit  of  the 
young  soldier,  but  they  caused  a  serious  illness,  and  he  was 
taken  to  a  hospital  where  he  lay  in  a  dangerous  condition  for 
six  months.  He  rejoined  his  command  in  June,  1865,  and  was 
surrendered  to  the  Federal  forces  at  Shreveport,  La.  One  who 
served  with  him  remembers  the  handsome  youth,  bold  and 
ardent  of  temperament,  manly  beyond  his  years,  a  general 
favorite,  the  life  of  the  camp.  None  took  more  pride  in  his 
subsequent  career  than  those  who  were  his  comrades  in  those 
arduous  campaigns  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas. 

Returning  to  his  native  county  of  Kanawha,  to  which  his 
mother  had  returned,  Mr.  KENNA  obtained  employment  at  salt- 
making.  But  he  wanted  to  do  better;  he  had  a  desire  to  rise 


Biographical  Sketch.  7 

in  the  world.  Bealizing  the  incompleteness  of  his  education, 
through  the  assistance  of  kind  friends,  chief  of  whom  was 
Bishop  E.  V.  Whelan,  he  entered  St.  Vincent's  Academy  at 
Wheeling,  and  by  diligent  study  acquired  in  the  course  of  less 
than  three  years  a  knowledge  of  books  sufficient  to  enable  him 
to  pursue  his  studies  at  home.  After  leaving  school,  in  1868, 
Mr.  KENNA  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Miller  &  Quarrier,  at 
Charleston,  W.  Ya.,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1870.  He 
rose  rapidly  in  his  profession.  In  1872  he  was  nominated  by 
flic  Democratic  party  and  elected  to  the  office  of  prosecuting 
attorney  of  Kanawha  County,  rendering  in  that  important  office 
efficient  service.  The  duties  of  prosecuting  attorney  in  one  of 
the  most  populous  counties  of  the  State  tried  the  qualities  of 
the  young  lawyer,  but  he  was  equal  to  every  test,  and  obtained 
a  wider  recognition  of  the  powers  which  those  who  knew  him 
intimately  felt  sure  needed  only  the  <  ccasion  to  call  them  forth. 
In  187.")  Mr.  KENNA  was  elected  judge  pro  tern,  of  the  circuit 
court,  and  discharged  the  difficult  duties  of  the  office  in  a 
manner  that  added  to  his  already  well-merited  reputation  for 
industry  and  legal  ability. 

In  1876  Mr.  KENNA  was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  of  the 
Third  district  of  West  Virginia  as  their  candidate  for  Congress, 
defeating  men  much  older  in  years  and  of  acknowledged  abil- 
ity and  popularity.  He  was  duly  elected  and  entered  Congress, 
the'  youngest  member  of  that  body.  His  aptitude  for  legisla- 
tive duties  was  quickly  discerned  by  Speaker  Kandall,  who 
assigned  him  to  service  on  important  committees,  and  by  other 
leaders,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he  became  one  of  the  most 
influential  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  He  was 
reflected  in  1878,  in  1880,  and  1882.  Before  the  beginning  ot 
the  term  for  which  he  had  been -last  chosen  he  was  elected  to 
the  United  States  Senate,  in  1883,  to  succeed  Hon.  Henry  G. 
Davis,  and  took  his  seat  December  3,  18S3,  and  was  reflected 


8  Biographical  Sketch, 

in  1889  for  the  term  ending  March  .">,  1895.  AVhen  lie  entered 
the  Senate  he  was,  as  he  had  been  in  the  House,  tlie  youngest 
member  of  the  body. 

Mr.  KENNA  "  developed  at  the  very  threshold  of  legislative 
life,"  said  the  writer  previously  quoted,  "an  aptness  for  it,  and 
a  coolness  of  judgment  meriting  the  testimonials  he  received 
from  other  members,  and  from  many  of  his  constituents.  He 
never  spoke  except  when  he  had  something  to  say.  His  splendid 
physique — standing  full  6  feet — his  smooth  diction  and  clear 
enunciation,  and  his  self-poise  never  failed  to  attract  attention 
and  command  respect.  His  growth,  after  the  full  six  years  he 
served  in  the  House,  was  continuous  and  steady.  But  few  who 
served  continuously  with  him  developed  as  rapidly.  He  always 
represented  the  progressive,  liberal,  and  vigorous  element  of 
his  party,  and  consequently  holds  the  respect  of  those  aggres- 
sive working  members  of  his  own  party  and  the  esteem  of  his 
political  opponents  in  legislative  councils.1' 

During  Mr.  KENNA'S  service  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
and  in  the  Senate  he  took  part  in  many  great  debates  and  aided 
in  shaping  much  important  legislation.  His  service  in  the 
House  will  be  forever  identified  with  the  legislation  in  connec- 
tion with  the  regulation  of  interstate  commerce,  and  particu- 
larly with  the  acts  providing  for  the  improvement  of  the  navi- 
gation of  the  rivers  of  his  native  State.  The  development  of 
the  resources  of  West  Virginia,  through  the  improvement  of 
the  means  of  transportation  by  water,  was  to  him  a  cherished 
project  to  which  he  devoted  unremitting  labor.  The  results 
already  attained  and  the  grander  ones  yet  to  be  realized  will 
keep  in  constant  remembrance  his  Congressional  service.  In 
the  Senate  his  masterly  and  exhaustive  speech  on  the  power  of 
the  President  to  remove  officers  without  giving  to  the  Senate 
the  reasons  for  his  action  will  preserve  in  imperishable  records 
the  fame  of  JOHN  E.  KENNA  as  an  orator  and  constitutional 


Biographical  Sketch.  9 

lawyer.  (For  this  speech  see  Congressional  Record  of  March 
12,  1886,  vol.  17,  part  3,  page  2328.) 

Mr.  KENNA  was  a  singularly  gifted  man.  Handsome  of 
person,  with  attractive  countenance  and  pleasing  voice;  with 
an  intellect  naturally  strong  and  cultivated  not  alone  by  the 
study  of  the  books  but  of  men  in  the  varied  walks  of  life;  a 
lawyer  learned  in  the  great  principles  of  his  profession ;  quick, 
logical,  and  forcible  in  debate,  he  was  a  man  to  command  at- 
tention before  any  audience.  Behind  all  was  the  character 
pure,  sincere,  earnest  that  gave  weight,  as  no  words  alone, 
however  eloquent,  could  do,  to  every  utterance  that  he  made. 
But  it  was  in  the  simplicity  and  generosity  of  his  character 
and  the  nobility  of  his  nature  that  Mr.  KENNA  was  pr^mi- 
iient.  He  was  most  rich  in  his  capacity  for  friendship.  All 
who  came  to  know  the  man  became  his  friends.  His  frank 
nature,  his  ready  sympathy,  his  unpretentious  manners,  com- 
bined to  make  a  personality  so  winning  upon  the  affections 
that  no  man  was  more  loved  in  life  or  has  been  more  mourned 
in  death. 

Ilr  was  a  man  close  to  the  people.  He  mingled  with  them 
in  their  daily  avocations,  participated  in  their  sports,  joyed 
with  them  in  their  joys,  and  sorrowed  with  them  in  their  sor- 
rows. It  was  his  delight  to  go  far  from  the  crowded  marts 
of  men  and  with  gun  and  rod  to  hunt  and  fish  among  the 
mountains  of  his  State.  He  delighted  in  the  beauties  of 
nature;  the  streams  and  forests  and  mountains  were  dear  to 
him;  his  sympathies  were  as  boundless  as  the  sky. 

The  illness  which  caused  Mr.  KENNA'S  death  was  borne  with 
characteristic  fortitude.  He  never  lost  hope  and  was  always 
brave,  patient,  cheerful.  When  the  announcement  of  his 
death  was  made  there  was  universal  sorrow.  Evidences  of 
grief  were  apparent  on  all  sides.  Estimates  of  his  services 
and  character  were  gathered  by  the  newspapers  from  men  who 


10  Biographical  Sketch. 

had  kiiown  him,  and  editorials,  stating  the  truth  in  what  may 
seem  to  some  the  extravagant  language  of  eulogy,  were  pub- 
lished in  many  papers.  All  agreed  that  the  country  had  suf 
fered  a  great  loss,  that  a  noble  spirit  had  passed  from  earth. 
The  Washington  Post  said: 

The  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  JOHN 
E.  KENNA,  of  West  Virginia,  will  no  doubt  be  worthily  filled,  but  never 
by  one  of  nobler  qualities  or  more  lovable  character  than  his.  His  friend- 
ships were  limited  only  by  the  number  of  those  who  knew  him ;  his  kindli- 
ness of  heart  was  measured  only  by  the  bounds  of  human  sympathy ;  his  . 
sense  of  honor  was  cast  in  a  chivalriciuold,  and  his  walk  and  conversation 
were  those  of  an  honorable  and  high-minded  gentleman.  Not  only,  how- 
ever, were  Mr.  KENNA'S  personal  attributes  peculiarly  attractive,  but  he 
possessed  abilities  of  a  high  order.  He  was  a  man  of  clear  intellectual 
perceptions,  of  high  attainments,  and  honest,  patriotic  purpose,  well  versed 
in  public  questions,  and  capable  of  supporting  his  positions  with  cogent 
and  impressive  argument,  if  not  with  brilliancy  of  rhetoric.  •  Though  one 
of  the  youngest  of  Senators,  he  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  respect  of  all, 
and  on  both  sides  the  Chamber  his  loss  will  be  profoundly  felt  and  sincerely 
lamented. 

His  body  was  borne  to  the  Capitol  and  funeral  ceremonies 
held  in  the  Senate  Chamber.  A  committee  from  the  legisla- 
ture of  West  Virginia  was  present  lo  represent  the  people 
whom  he  had  so  long  served  in  Congress.  The  ceremonies 
were  attended  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Eepreseutatives, 
the  President  and  the  members  of  his  Cabinet,  the  lead- 
ing officials  of  the  Government,  and  the  diplomatic  corps. 
When  the  impressive  ceremonies  in  the  Senate  Chamber  were 
concluded  the  body,  accompanied  by  the  bereaved  family,  and 
the  committees  of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress  and  of  the  legis- 
lature of  West  Virginia,  was  borne  to  the  railroad  station 
and  placed  on  a  special  train  to  be  carried  to  Charleston, 
W.  Va.,  the  late  home  of  the  deceased  Senator,  where  the  inter- 
ment was  made. 


ANNOUNCEMENTS 


DEATH  OF  SENATOR  KENNA, 


IN  THE  SENATE. 

WEDNESDAY,  January  11,  1893. 

Kev.  J.  G.  Butler,  D.  D.,  the  Chaplain  of  the  Senate,  offered 
the  following  prayer : 

O,  Thou,  who  livestand  reignest  forever,  the  everlasting  God, 
our  Maker,  in  Whom  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being,  we 
come  humbly  and  reverently  into  Thy  presence  as  we  stand 
again  in  the  shadow  of  death.  We  thank  Thee  for  this  faith- 
ful and  useful  life.  We  bless  Thee  for  its  patience  in  suffering 
and  for  the  peace  and  quiet  of  its  end.  We  remember  before 
Thee  the  home  bereft.  Do  Thou  sustain  and  comfort  and  sanc- 
tify. O,  that  the  peace  of  God  may  dwell  there,  in  the  midst 
of  the  great  darkness. 

Teach  us  heavenly  wisdom.  Thou  art  reminding  us  that  there 
is  but  a  step  between  us  and  death,  that  our  life  is  only  a  vapor. 
Help  us  so  to  live  day  by  day  in  the  fear  of  God  and  in  the 
service  of  men,  keeping  our  own  consciences  right,  that  when- 
ever labor  and  care  and  anxiety  and  joy  and  sorrow  shall  cease 
we  may  be  prepared  to  fall  asleep  and  to  enter  into  rest. 

11 


1 2        Announcements  of  the  Death  of  Senator  Kenna. 

O,  Thou,  who  livest  and  wast  dead  and  art  alive  forevermore, 
the  abolisher  of  death,  our  only  Saviour,  our  eye  is  toward 
Thee.  We  pray  Thee  lead  us  all  through  this  pilgrim  way 
over  which  the  shadow  of  death  is  so  often  thrown.  We  thank 
Thee  for  light  from  heaven,  and  we  pray  Thee  give  unto  us 
inspiration  that  our  lives  may  be  so  restrained  and  fashioned 
and  molded  that  they  may  be  made  a  blessing  to  men  and  that 
(rod  may  be  honored  in  our  living. 

Bless  us  in  our  families;  bless  us  in  our  public  and  social 
relations;  and  help  us  everywhere  to  walk  in  the  fear  and  love 
of  the  Lord,  delivered  from  all  uncharitableness  one  toward 
the  other.  We  ask  these  mercies  with  forgiveness  and  grace, 
in  Jesus'  name.  Amen. 

The  Journal  of  yesterday's  proceedings  was  read  and 
approved. 

DEATH  OF  SENATOR  KENNA. 

Mr.  BLACKBURN.  Mr.  President,  it  has  never  fallen  to  the 
lot  of  man  to  deliver  a  sadder  message  than  I  now  bear  to  the 
Senate  Chamber. 

Because  of  the  absence  from  this  city  of  Mr.  FAULKNER,  a 
Senator  from  the  State  of  West  Virginia,  the  painful  duty 
devolves  upon  me  to  announce  to  this  'body  that  JOHN  E. 
KENNA,  late  a  Senator  from  that  State,  died  in  this  city  in  the 
early  hours  of  this  morning.  After  a  long  and  lingering  ill 
ness,  during  which  the  fatal  malady  of  which  he  was  the  victim 
made  steady  and  relentless  progress,  the  end  came.  About  3 
o'clock  this  morning,  surrounded  by  his  wife  and  family,  he 
(teased  to  live,  and  the  soul  of  the  great  Senator  passed  behind 
the  veil  and  made  its  entry  into  the  realms  of  that  unknown 
world. 

In  the  face  of  this  fresh  and  mighty  sorrow  the  tongue  fails 
and  refuses  to  speak  that  which  wells  up  in  the  heart  for 


Announcements  of  the  Death  of  Senator  Kenna.        13 

utterance.  Measured  by  years,  lie  was  one  of  the  youngest 
members  in  this  Chamber,  not  yet  45  years  of  age ;  but  meas- 
ured by  the  accomplishments  of  his  life,  he  ranked  with  the 
octogenarian.  Whether  as  soldier  or  as  citizen,  as  husband, 
father,  or  friend,  he  had  rounded  out  a  life  and  leaves  behind 
him  a  record  to  challenge  the  approval  of  mankind.  Measured 
as  a  lawyer  or  a  lawmaker,  he  left  his  impress  upon  the  genera- 
tion to  which  he  belonged.  He  has  engraven  in  ineffaceable 
characters  upon  the  history  of  his  country  his  achievements 
here  and  in  the  other  branch  of  the  National  Legislature. 
Kindly  as  a  woman,  unselfish  to  a  fault,  brave  and  unflinching 
in  the  discharge  of  every  duty,  it  has  never  been  my  good 
fortune  to  come  in  contact  with  a  nature  more  lovable,  more 
exalted,  than  was  that  of  our  dead  comrade. 

I  will  not,  Mr.  President,  trust  myself  to  speak  of  him  now. 
At  some  day  in  the  early  future  the  Senate,  in  obedience  to 
its  appropriate  and  honored  custom,  will  set  apart  a  day  when 
tributes  may  be  paid,  by  those  who  knew  him  and  loved  him. 
to  his  memory.  Till  then  I  will  content  myself  by  asking  the 
present  consideration  of  the  resolutions  T  send  to  the  desk. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.     The  resolutions  will  be  read. 

The  Chief  Clerk  read  the  resolutions,  as  follows: 

AY.w/tvrf,  That  the  Senate  has  heard  with  great  sorrow  of  the  death  of 
the  Hon.  JOHN  E.  KEXNA,  late  a  Senator  from  the  State  of  West  Virginia. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  seven  Senators  be  appointed  by  the  Vice- 
President  to  take  order  for  superintending  the  funeral  of  Mr.  KENNA, 
which  will  take  place  to-morrow,  Thursday,  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  at  1 
o'clock  p.  in.,  and  that  the  Senate  will  attend  the  same. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  further  mark  of  respect  entertained  by  the  Senate 
for  his  memory,  his  remains  be  removed  from  Washington  to  West  Vir- 
ginia in  charge  of  the  Sergeant-at-Arms,  and  attended  by  the  committee, 
\vho  shall  have  full  power  to  carry  this  resolution  into  effect. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  communicate  these  proceedings  to  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  invite  the  House  of  Representatives  to  attend  the 
funeral  to-morrow,  Thursday,  at  1  o'clock  p.  m.,  and  to  appoint  a  com- 
mittee to  act  with  the  committee  of  the  Senate. 


14        Announcements  of  the  Death  of  Senator  Kenna. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.  The  question  is  on  agreeing  TO  the 
resolutions. 

The  resolutions  were  agreed  to  unanimously. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT  appointed  as  the  committee  under  the 
second  resolution  Mr.  FAULKNER,  Mr.  BLACKBURN,  Mr.  BAN- 
SOM,  Mr.  DANIEL,  Mr.  WALTHALL,  Mr.  MANDERSON,  and  Mr. 
SQUIRE. 

Mr.  BLACKBURN.  Mr.  President,  I  ask  for  the  considera- 
tion of  the  resolutions  I  now  send  to  the  desk% 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.     The  resolutions  will  he  read. 

The  resolutions  were  read,  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  invitations  be  extended  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States  and  the  members  of  his  Cabinet,  the  Chief  Justice  and  the  associ- 
ate justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  the  diplomatic 
corps,  the  Major-General  Commanding  the  Army,  and  the  Senior  Admiral 
of  the  Navy  to  attend  the  funeral  of  the  Hon.  JOHN  E.  KENNA,  late  a  Sen- 
ator from  the  State  of  West  Virginia,  in  the  Senate,  Chamber,  to-morrow, 
Thursday,  at  1  o'clock  p.  m. 

Resolred,  That  as  a  further  mark  of  respect  the  Senate  do  now  adjourn. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.  The  question  is  on  agreeing  to  the 
resolutions. 

The  resolutions  were  agreed  to  unanimously;  and  (at  12 
o'clock  and  15  minutes  p.  ni.)  the  Senate  adjourned  until 
tomorrow,  Thursday,  January  12, 1893,  at  12  o'clock  meridian. 


IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 

WEDNESDAY,  January  11,  1893. 

The  House  met  at  12  o'clock  in.  The  Chaplain,  Eev.  W.  H. 
Milburn,  D.  D.,  offered  the  following  prayer : 

O,  eternal  God !  as  the  knell  once  more  sounds  through  the 
Capitol,  and  the  saddening  intelligence  comes  to  us  that  a 
distinguished  Senator  and  a  man  once  prominent  on  this  floor 
have  finished  their  earthly  journeys  and  gone  to  the  solemn 


Announcements  of  the  Death  of  Senator  Kcnna.        15 

tribunal  of  Thy  presence,  we  pray  that  the  lesson  taught  us 
may  come  home  to  every  heart.  "All  flesh  is  grass,  and  all 
the  goodliness  thereof  is  as  the  flower  of  the  field.  The  grass 
\vithereth,  the  flower  fadeth,  but  the  word  of  our  God  shall 
stand  forever." 

Hear  our  humble  and  earnest  petitions  in  behalf  of  the  wife 
and  children  of  the  Senator  and  of  the  children  of  the  general, 
and  comfort  them,  we  pray  Thee,  by  the  consolations  of  Thy 
word  and  of  Thy  Holy  Spirit.  Let  all  who  are  in  trouble  and 
distress  receive  the  benediction  of  Thy  grace  and  the  sunshine 
of  the  truth  of  Thy  word.  Prepare  us  all  for  the  solemn  change 
whenever  it  shall  come;  and  at  the  end  may  we  quietly  pass 
to  that  rest  which  Thou  hast  prepared  for  Thy  people.  We 
pray  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour.  Amen. 


MESSAGE    FROM    THE    SENATE. 

A  message  from  the  Senate,  by  Mr.  McCook,  its  Secretary, 
announced  the  passage  of  sundry  resolutions  relative  to  the 
death  of  Hon.  JOHN  E.  KENNA,  late  a  Senator  from  the  State 
of  West  Virginia. 

DEATH    OF   HON.    JOHN   E.    KENNA. 

Mr.  WILSON  of  West  Virginia.  Mr.  Speaker,  the  resolutions 
just  communicated  from  the  Senate  announce  to  this  House  a 
fact  whose  impressive  solemnity  I  shall  not  lessen  by  words  of 
my  own  at  this  time. 

For  sixteen  years  Mr.  KENNA  had  represented  West  Virginia 
in  this  House  and  in  the  Senate,  with  the  warm  approval  of 
his  constituents  and  the  applause  of  his  countrymen. 

Judged  by  the  length  of  his  service  and  the  distinction  of  his 
service,  he  had  filled  out  a  long  and  honored  career.  Judged 


1G        Announcements  of  the  Death  of  Senator  Kenna. 

by  the  number  of  bis  years,  as  they  are  measured  in  the  cal- 
endar, he  had  scarcely  reached  the  meridian  of  life,  or  entered 
upon  that  tableland  where  his  rare  powers  would  have  borne 
their  ripest  and  most  abundant  fruit. 

I  ask  leave,  sir,  in  response  to  the  resolutions  of  the  Senate, 
to  offer  the  resolutions  which  I  send  to  the  Clerk's  desk. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  Clerk  will  first  report  the  resolutions 
from  the  Senate. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  has  heard  with  great  sorrow  of  the  death  of 
the  Hon.  JOHN  E.  KENNA,  late  a  Senator  from  the  State  of  West  Virginia. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  seven  Senators  be  appointed  by  the  Vice- 
Presideut  to  take  order  for  superintending  the  funeral  of  Mr.  KENNA,  which 
will  take  place  to-morrow,  Thursday,  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  at  1  o'clock 
p.  in.,  and  that  the  Senate  will  attend  the  same. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  further  mark  of  respect  entertained  by  the  Senate 
for  his  memory,  his  remains  be  removed  from  Washington  to  West  Vir- 
ginia in  charge  of  the  Sergeant-at-Arnis,  and  attended  by  the  committee, 
who  shall  have  full  power  to  carry  this  resolution  into  effect. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  communicate  these  proceedings  to  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  invite  the  House  of  Representatives  to  attend  the 
funeral  to-morrow,  Thursday,  at  1  o'clock  p.  in.,  and  to  appoint  a  committee 
to  act  with  the  committee  of  the  Senate. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  further  mark  of  respect  the  Senate  do  now  adjourn. 

The  SPEAKER.     The  Clerk  will  now  report  the  resolutions 
offered  by  the  gentleman  from  West  Virginia. 
The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  this  House  has  learned  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  death 
of  Hon.  JOHN  E.  KENNA,  a  Senator  of  the  United  States  from  the  State  of 
West  Virginia. 

Resolved,  That  the  Speaker  of  the  House  appoint  a  committee  of  ten 
members,  to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  committee  appointed  by  the  Son- 
ate,  to  take  order  for  superintending  the  funeral  and  to  accompany  the 
remains  to  their  last  resting  place. 

Resolved,  That  the  House  accept  the  invitation  of  the  Senate  to  attend 
the  funeral  to-morrow,  Thursday,  at  1  o'clock  p.  m.,  and  that  the  Clerk  ol 
the  House  communicate  these  proceedings  to  the  Senate. 

Resolved,  That,  as  a  further  tribute  and  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory 
of  the  deceased,  this  House  do  now  adjourn. 


Announcements  of  the  Death  of  Senator  Kenna.         17 

The  SPEAKER.  The  question  is  on  the  adoption  of  the  reso- 
lutions. 

The  resolutions  were  agreed  to  unanimously. 

The  SPEAKER.  Before  announcing  the  result  of  the  vote,  and 
declaring  the  House  adjourned,  the  Chair  will  appoint  as  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  : 

Mr.  ALDERSON,  Mr.  PENDLETON,  Mr.  WILSON  of  West  Virginia,  Mr. 
CAPEHART,  Mr.  OUTHWAITE,  Mr.  TUCKER,  Mr.  DUNGAN,  Mr.  MANSUR, 
Mr.  HENDERSON  of  Illinois,  and  Mr.  BINGHAM. 

The  SPEAKER.  In  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  resolu- 
tions just  adopted,  the  Chair  now  declares  the  House  adjourned 
until  to-morrow  at  12  o'clock  mi. 

And  accordingly  (at  12  o'clock  and  48  minutes)  the  House 
adjourned. 


THURSDAY,  January  12, 1893. 

FUNERAL   SERVICES   OF   SENATOR   KENNA. 

Mr.  WILSON  of  West  Virginia  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion; which  was  read,  considered,  and  adopted: 

Resolved,  That  at  12  o'clock  and  55  minutes  p.  m.  to-day  the  House  pro- 
ceed to  the  Senate  Chamber  to  attend  the  funeral  services  of  the  late  Sena- 
tor KENNA,  and  upon  the  conclusion  of  such  services  the  House  return  to 
its  Chamber  and  resume  itts  session  for  the  day. 

S.  MIS.  66 2 


FUNERAL  SERVICES  IN  THE  SENATE  CHAMBER. 


THURSDAY,  January  12,  1893. 

Rev.  .7.  G.  Butler,  u.  D.,  the  Chaplain  of  the  Senate,  offered 
the  following  prayer: 

O  Thou,  in  whom  is  no  darkness  at  all,  the  light  and  the  life 
of  men,  help  us  this  day  and  every  day  to  walk  in  Thy  light. 
We  thank  Thee  for  the  light  of  Thy  Word  and  the  light  of  the 
perfect  life.  We  bless  Thee  for  all  who  so  live  in  the  obedience 
and  faith  and  love  of  the  gospel  that  their  light  shines  abroad, 
that  men  may  see  their  good  works  and  be  led  to  glorify  Thee, 
our  Father  in  Heaven. 

We  bless  Thee  for  this  great  free  land,  with  all  its  institutions 
of  education  and  religion  and  all  the  people  free.  We  pray,  O 
God,  that  Thou  wouldst  shine  more  and  more  into  our  hearts, 
making  plain  the  path  of  duty,  delivering  us  from  the  power 
of  darkness  and  error  in  every  form  and  from  the  bondage  of 
ignorance  and  sin.  filling  us  with  Thine  own  mind  so  that  we 
may  enter  more  and  more  into  that  freedom  wherewith  Christ 
makes  men  and  nations  free. 

Guide  us  this  day  by  Thy  counsel.  We  thank  Thee  for  the 
care  of  the  night  and  the  mercies  of  the  morning. 

We  look  to  Thee,  O  God,  as  we  come  to  these  duties,  and  pray 
that  as  we  turn  toward  and  from  the  open  grave  we  may  learn 
lessons  of  heavenly  wisdom,  so  walking  in  the  fear  and  love  of 
God,  with  charity  toward  our  fellow-men,  that  our  lives  may  be 

made  a  benediction. 

19 


20  Funeral  Services  in  the  Senate  Chamber. 

Sanctify  to  us  all  Thy  providences.  Bless  with  us  our  fellow- 
men  in  every  class  and  condition,  and  may  our  land  stand  more 
and  more  for  the  truth  and  justice,  the  equity  and  righteous- 
ness, of  the  religion  of  Christ.  We  ask  these  mercies,  with  for- 
giveness and  grace,  in  Jesus'  name.  Amen. 

The  Journal  of  yesterday's  proceedin  gs  was  read  and  approved . 

Mr.  FAULKNER.  Mr.  President,  owing  to  my  absence  yes 
terday  I  made  an  arrangement  with  the  Senator  from  Kentucky 
[Mr.  BLACKBURN],  on  whom  was  imposed  the  sad  privilege  of 
announcing  to  the  Senate  the  death  of  my  distinguished  col- 
league, Senator  JOHN  E.  KENNA,  of  West  Virginia.  I  come 
from  the  capital  of  the  State,  where  were  assembled  yesterday 
the  representatives  of  the  people  of  that  State.  I  bear  with 
me  to  the  Senate  the  evidences  of  their  sympathy  at  this  sad 
bereavement,  not  only  to  the  people  of  that  State,  but  to  the 
nation. 

As  a  further  evidence  of  their  high  esteem  and  distinguished 
regard  for  the  Senator  who  is  now  departed,  they  appointed 
from  the  senate  and  house  of  representatives  of  that  body 
a  joint  committee  to  proceed  to  the  capital  of  the  nation  and 
to  escort  the  remains  of  the  deceased  Senator  to  the  capital  of 
of  the  State,  where  the  interment  will  take  place.  Under  the 
rules  of  the  Senate  it  becomes  my  duty  at  this  time  to  ask  the 
unanimous  consent  that  the  privileges  of  the  floor  be  granted 
to  this  representative  committee  of  the  legislature  of  the 
State  of  West  Virginia. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.  Unanimous  consent  will  be  consid- 
ered as  agreed  to,  if  there  be  no  objection.  The  Chair  hears 
none. 

The  joint  committee  of  the  legislature  of  West  Virginia  was 
composed  of  Mr.  C.  C.  Watts,  Mr.  W.  H.  Tarr,  Mr.  J.  A.  Shep- 
pard,  Mr.  John  E.  Peck,  and  Mr.  A.  Garrison  on  the  part  of 
the  senate,  and  Mr.  L.  D.  Chambers,  Mr.  Joseph  F.  Clark,  Mr, 


Funeral  Services  in  the  Senate  Chamber.  21 

E.  S.  Hammett,  Mr.  L.  H.  Graham,  and  Mr.  S.  J.  Greer  on  the 
part  of  the  house  of  delegates. 

Mr.  MANDERSON.  I  move  that  the  Senate  take  a  recess 
until  a  quarter  of  1  o'clock. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to;  and  at  the  expiration  of  the 
recess  (at  12  o'clock  and  45  minutes  p.  m.)  the  Senate  reas- 
sembled. 

A  message  from  the  House  of  Representatives,  by  Mr.  T.  O. 
Towles,  its  Chief  Clerk,  announced  that  the  House  had  passed 
the  following  resolutions: 

Resolved,  That  this  House  has  learned  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  death 
of  Hon.  JOHN  E.  KENNA,  a  Senator  of  the  United  States  from  the  State  of 
West  Virginia. 

Resolved,  That  the  Speaker  of  the  House  appoint  a  committee  of  ten 
members  to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  committee  appointed  by  the  Sen- 
ate, to  take  order  for  superintending  the  funeral  and  to  accompany  the 
remains  to  their  last  resting  place. 

Resolved,  That  the  House  accept  the  invitation  of  the  Senate  to  attend 
the  funeral  to-morrow,  Thursday,  at  1  o'clock  p.  m.,  and  that  the  Clerk 
of  the  House  communicate  these  proceedings  to  the  Senate. 

Resolved,  That,  as  a  further  tribute  and  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory 
of  the  deceased,  this  House  do  now  adjourn. 

The  message  also  announced  that  the  Speaker  had  appointed 
as  the  committee  under  the  second  resolution  Mr.  ALDERSON, 
Mr.  PENDLETON,  Mr.  WILSON  of  West  Virginia,  Mr.  CAPE- 
HART,  Mr.  OUTHWAITE,  Mr.  TUCKER,  Mr.  DUNGA.N,  Mr.  MAN- 
SUR,  Mr.  HENDERSON  of  Illinois,  and  Mr.  BINGHAM. 

Before  the  assembling  of  the  Senate  the  body  of  Mr.  KENNA 
had  been  removed  from  his  late  residence  to  the  marble  room, 
where  it  remained  under  a  guard  of  Capitol  police  until  taken 
into  the  Senate  Chamber.  The  casket  was  covered  with  black 
cloth  and  was  devoid  of  ornaments  save  a  plain  silver  plate 
bearing  the  following  inscription : 

JOHN  EDWARD  KENNA, 

Born,  April  10,  1848. 
Died,  January  11,  1893. 


22  Funeral  Services  in  the  Senate  Chamber. 

At  eight  minutes  before  1  o'clock  tbe  members  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  preceded  by  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  and 
Clerk,  and  headed  by  the  Speaker,  entered  the  Senate  Cham- 
ber. The  Speaker  was  escorted  to  a  seat  at  the  right  of  the 
Vice- President,  the  Clerk  sat  at  the  Secretary's  desk,  the  Ser- 
geant-at- Arms  on  the  right  of  the  Vice-President's  desk,  and 
the  members  of  the  House  were  escorted  to  the  seats  on  the 
floor  provided  for  them. 

They  were  soon  followed  by  the  Major-General  Commanding 
the  Army,  the  diplomatic  corps,  the  Chief  Justice  and  asso- 
ciate justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  members  of  the  Cabi- 
net, who  were  respectively  escorted  to  the  seats  assigned  them 
on  the  floor  of  the  Senate  Chamber. 

At  1  o'clock  and  14  minutes  p.  in.  the  casket  containing  the 
remains  of  the  deceased  Senator  was  brought  into  the  Senate 
Chamber,  having  been  preceded  by  the  committee  of  the  leg- 
islature of  West  Virginia,  the  family  of  the  deceased,  and 
escorted  by  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  of  the  Senate,  the  com- 
mittee of  arrangements  of  the  two  Houses,  the  pallbearers 
selected  from  the  Capitol  police,  and  followed  by  acolytes  and 
lit.  liev.  John  J.  Keaue,  rector  of  the  Catholic  University 
America;  Rev.  P.  J.  Donahue,  of  Baltimore,  Md. ;  Rev.  1). 
F.  Schmitt,  Rev.  James  F.  Donahue,  Rev.  M.  J.  Riordan,  of 
Barnesville,  Md.;  Rev.  J.  Havens  Richards,  s.  J.,  president  of 
Georgetown  University;  Rev.  Jacob  Walter,  Rev.  C.  Gillespie, 
s.  J. ;  Rev.  William  J.  Scanlan,  s.  J.;  Rev.  P.  J.  McGinney, 
s.  J.;  Rev.  John  G.  Delaney,  R»ev.  James  Mackin,  Rev.  John 
Gloyd,  Rev.  Joseph  F.  McGee,  Rev.  M.  P.  Sullivan,  Rev.  P.  J. 
O'Connell,  Rev.  E.  E.  Maynadier,  Rev.  B.  Gordian,  F.  s.  C.; 
Rev.  D.  J.  O'Connor,  of  Clarksburg,  W.  Va.,  and  Rev.  J.  M. 
Gleason,  Rev.  James  L.  Gorey,  Rev.  Edward  P.  Dempsey,  and 
Rev.  John  A.  Cull,  of  the  Catholic  University  of  America. 


Funeral  Services  in  the  Senate  Chamber.  23 

The  prayers  for  the  burial  of  the  dead,  prescribed  by  the 
ritual  of  the  Catholic  Church  were  read  first  in  Latin  and  then 
in  English  by  Rev.  James  F.  Donahue,  assistant  pastor  of  St. 
Joseph's  Church,  and  the  responses  were  made  by  attending 
clergymen. 

After  the  incensing  and  blessing  of  the  body, 

Rt.  Rev.  John  J.  Keane  delivered  the  following  sermon: 

FUNERAL    SERMON   OF    BISHOP    KEANE. 

At  the  request  of  his  Eminence,  Cardinal  Gibbons,  and  as 
his  representative  on  this  solemn  occasion,  it  is  my  privilege 
to  oft'er  to  Senator  KENNA  the  church's  tribute  of  respect  and 
affection.  His  country,  whose  chief  and  most  honored  repre- 
sentatives are  at  this  moment  clustered  around  him,  has  given 
and  will  yet  give  fitting  expression  to  her  appreciation  of  the 
tireless  energy,  the  distinguished  ability,  and  the  blameless 
integrity  with  which  he  filled  for  so  many  years  the  high  offices 
to  which  his  fellow-citizens  had  called  him.  Let  it  be  permit- 
ted to  his  mother  church  to  mingle  her  accents  with  those  of 
his  country,  to  tell  of  those  qualities  that  made  him  near  and 
dear  to  her — yea,  the  qualities  in  which  lay  the  real  secret  of 
all  his  public  worth. 

A  life  is  noble  in  proportion  as  it  has  before  it  a  noble  ideal 
and  strives  manfully  to  live  up  to  it.  But  nowhere  in  all  the 
universe  of  human  thought  and  aspiration  can  there  be  found 
such  an  ideal  as  that  which  faith  from  his  earliest  years  held 
before  him;  nowhere  such  motives  and  means  for  its  attain- 
ment as  his  faith  supplied  him  with. 

In  his  early  childhood  faith  taught  him  to  say  to  his  own 
busy  mind,  and  to  answer  to  all  who  asked  of  him  the  reason 
of  his  being:  "God  made  me  that  I  might  know  Him,  love 
Him,  and  serve  Him  in  this  world,  and  be  happy  with  Him 
forever  in  the  next."  It  showed  him  that  he  was  the  offspring 


24  Funeral  Services  in  the  Senate  Chamber. 

of  infinite  love,  and  that  his  destiny  was  the  perfection  and  the 
beatitude  of  his  being  in  love  eternal. 

When,  from  the  littleness  of  his  finite  being  and  from  the 
lowliness  of  this  earthly  abode,  he  looked  up  to  the  far-off 
boundless  infinite  and  asked  "How  can  I  reach  a  destiny 
there  ?"  his  faith  showed  him  the  one  Mediator,  the  Word  made 
flesh,  the  God  Man,  the  bridge  between  the  infinite  and  the 
finite,  whose  humanity  stoops  to  embrace  the  lowliest  child  of 
earth,  and  whose  divinity  lifts  those  that  are  willing  to  be 
lifted  up  to  their  destiny  in  the  eternal  bosom.  He  heard  the 
Saviour  whisper,  "No  one  cometh  to  the  Father  but  through 
me."  He  saw  that  only  through  love  incarnate  could  human- 
ity find  its  way  to  God;  and  even  as  a  child  he  vowed  in  his 
heart  that  he  would  do  it. 

Then  he  asked,  "But  tell  me  what  this  means  in  practice, 
what  it  implies  in  my  daily  life  ?"  And  his  faith  answered,  in 
the  words  of  our  Lord,  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  thy  whole  heart,  and  with  thy  whole  soul,  and  with  thy 
whole  mind,  and  with  thy  whole  strength."  To  this  his  young 
heart  responded  willingly,  because  he  knew  that  tho  sweetest 
of  all  things  is  love,  and  that  the  noblest  of  all  loves  is  the 
love  of  God.  And  then  faith  pointed  to  all  that  his  life  was 
ever  to  have  relations  with  and  said,  "And  the  second  com- 
mandment is  like  to  the  first:  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself."  Thus  in  the  light  that  beamed  forth  from  the  incar- 
nate God  he  saw  clearly,  unmistakably,  the  spiritual  nobleness 
to  which  his  own  life  was  called,  while  that  same  radiance 
clothing  every  human  being  in  the  sweetness  and  dignity  of 
the  eternal  Father's  love  and  of  kinship  to  the  Saviour  stirred 
his  young  heart  with  yearnings  that  his  life  might  be  useful 
as  well  as  holy,  that  it  might  not  only  give  glory  to  God  in 
the  highest,  but  also  spread  peace  and  good  will  along  his 
pathway  on  earth. 


Funeral  Services  in  the  Senate  Chamber.  25 

Within  his  soul  he  heard  the  voice  of  conscience  and  of 
natural  benevolence  echoing  the  Saviour's  words  and  giving 
them  forth  as  a  command  of  their  own ;  but  how  immeasur- 
ably was  their  persuasiveness  intensified  and  their  efficacy 
heightened  when  he  recognized  that  they  were  indeed  an  echo 
of  His  voice  who  so  sweetly  said  to  him :  u  Whatsoever  thou 
shalt  do  even  to  one  of  my  least  brethren  thou  shalt  have 
done  it  unto  me."  He  had  before  him  the  loftiest  ideal,  and 
he  craved  to  be  worthy  of  it. 

Then,  as  his  life  developed  and  the  horizon  of  his  relation- 
ships and  his  duties  expanded,  his  faith  showed  him  that  the 
same  eternal  Father,  who  has  so  wonderfully  framed  and  ele- 
vated human  nature,  and  who  has  so  sweetly  fashioned  and 
blessed  the  links  which  bind  one  to  family,  to  friends,  and  to 
the  associates  of  daily  intercourse,  has  also  with  equal  wisdom 
and  love  devised  and  sanctioned  human  society  in  its  widest 
and  highest  forms  of  country  and  of  humanity ;  that  it  is  He 
who  fires  the  patriot's  heart  with  love  of  country ;  that  it  is 
He  who  distends  the  heart  of  the  philanthropist  with  long- 
ings for  the  welfare  of  mankind,  for  the  progress  of  the  race, 
lie  saw  in  the  light  of  Christ  that  this  was  the  noblest  reach 
of  unselfishness  and  benevolence ;  that  this  above  all  was 
worthy  to  be  animated  by  His  spirit;  that  whatever  the  life  of 
man  was  capable  of  under  the  promptings  of  manly  courage, 
of  loyalty  to  duty,  of  broadness  of  sympathies,  of  disinter- 
ested self-sacrifice — all  this,  and  more  and  higher  still,  was 
comprised  in  the  ideal  of  Christian  patriotism  and  Christian 
heroism;  that  herein  was  found  the  lofty  inspiration  that  made 
apostles  and  martyrs  for  country  and  for  humanity  as  well  as 
for  religion  and  for  God.  And  he  saw  that  if  even  the  least 
act  of  charity  and  self-sacrifice,  done  for  the  least  of  human 
beings,  would  be  regarded  by  our  Divine  Saviour  as  done  to 
Himself,  much  more  would  noble  and  lofty  service,  achieved  in 


26  Funeral  Services  in  tJic  Senate  Chamber. 

the  spirit  of  a  Christian  for  the  good  of  country  or  of  mankind, 
be  regarded  by  the  Saviour  of  the  world  as  most  pleasing  and 
meritorious  service  to  the  Divine  Majesty. 

Here  was  the  lofty  ideal  which,  from  his  earliest  years,  JOHN 
EDWARD  KENNA  saw  held  before  him  by  his  faith.  And  such 
was  the  ideal  by  which,  up  to  his  latest  breath,  Senator  KENNA 
well  knew  that  he  had  to  measure  and  to  judge  all  the  work 
of  his  life.  Well  has  the  great  apostle  said:  "The  just  man 
liveth  by  faith."  That  life  must,  in  the  nature  of  things,  fall 
short  of  the  measure  of  full  justice  that  is  not  thus  inspired 
and  directed  by  faith.  For  faith  alone  tells  in  its  fullness  all 
that  a  man  is  meant  to  be  to  himself,  to  his  fellow-men,  to  his 
God ;  and  he  who  measures  his  life  by  another  standard 
measures  it  necessarily  by  a  lower  one,  and  must  fall  short  of 
his  full  heaven-appointed  duty. 

Thanks  be  to  God  whose  providence  gave  this  good  man 
from  his  earliest  boyhood  no  other  standard  by  which  to  shape 
and  estimate  his  life,  and  unto  his  last  day  permitted  him  to 
judge  himself  by  no  different  criterion.  Were  I  to  assert 
that  he  had  never  in  any  moment  of  his  life  relaxed  in  his 
striving  after  the  great  ideal  or  swerved  from  the  line  of  per- 
fect fidelity  in  its  realization,  he  would  be  first  to  rebuke  me 
for  the  exaggeration,  and  I  can  fancy  that  those  silent  lips, 
erst  so  prompt  and  strong  for  honesty  and  truth,  would  say, 
"No,  I  was  human ;  even  while  the  spirit  was  willing  the  flesh 
was  weak.  Ma,ny  and  many  a  time  did  I  strike  my  breast  and 
say,  <O  God,  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner.'"  And  now,  in  the 
language  of  the  liturgy,  his  spirit  cries  out,  "  Have  mercy  on 
me,  O  God,  according  to  thy  great  mercy,  and  according  to 
the  multitude  of  thy  tender  mercies  blot  out  my  iniquity.  A 
sacrifice  to  God  is  a  repentant  spirit;  the  contrite  and  humble 
heart,  O  God,  thou  wilt  not  despise." 

"But,"  he  would  add  with  characteristic  frankness,  "when- 


Funeral  Services  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  27 

ever  I  approached  the  sacrament  of  penance  by  a  good  confes- 
sion"— and  his  family  can  testify  that  he  did  it  frequently  and 
fervently — "I  honestly  deplored  before  God  my  shortcomings 
and  sins:  and  every  time  I  received  my  Saviour  into  my  poor 
heart  in  the  holy  communion  1  vowed  to  Him  that  J  would 
renew  my  resolve  of  fidelity  to  every  duty  towards  my  God, 
my  country,  and  my  fellow-men,  and  that  I  would  strive  to 
fulfill  them  in  His  own  spirit." 

Well  did  our  Divine  Lord  know  the  needs  of  human  nature 
when  He  established  in  His  church  these  sacramental  chan- 
nels of  His  grace,  to  curb,  to  spur,  to  chide,  to  comfort,  and 
encourage  and  clieer  upward,  according  to  our  many  necessi- 
ties. And  well  do  we  know  that  no  man  who  conscientiously 
has  recourse  to  them  can  be  a  bad  man.  Nay,  well  do  we  know 
that  he  can  not  but  be  a  good  man,  a  better  man  by  far  than 
without  these  restraints  and  helps  and  encouragements  of 
religion  he  naturally  could  be. 

Because  of  his  faith,  because  of  the  glorious  uplifting  truths 
it  taught  him,  because  of  the  potent  spiritual  aids  it  gave  him, 
JOHN  EDWARD  KENNA  was  a  wiser  man,  a  stronger  man,  a 
safer  man,  a  more  reliable  and  dutiful  and  useful  man  in  every 
department  of  life.  His  career  was  all  the  more  an  honor  to 
his  country  and  a  blessing  to  humanity  because  of  the  divine 
element  that  was  in  it.  The  links  of  deep  and  strong  and 
sincere  affection  which  bound  him  to  family  and  to  friends 
were  all  the  sweeter  and  all  the  tenderer  because  of  that  spirit 
in  the  heart  of  Christ  which  he  venerated,  which  he  loved,  and 
in  which  his  soul  yearned  to  participate. 

Blessed  be  God  for  all  that  his  faith  did  for  him,  for  the  ideal 
it  held  before  him,  for  the  ambition  it  implanted  in  his  heart, 
for  the  aspirations  it  poured  into  his  soul,  for  the  holy  aids  and 
restraints  with  which  it  enriched  his  daily  life.  Blessed  be 
God  for  the  depths  of  comfort  and  of  peace  with  which  the 


28  Funeral  Services  in  the  Senate  Chamber. 

ministrations  of  divine  mercy  tilled  his  weeks  of  suffering  and 
the  hour  of  his  death. 

Aiid  now  may  eternal  love  repair  and  perfect  in  him  what- 
ever his  life  has  left  faulty  and  imperfect.  May  "  the  Father 
of  Mercies  and  the  God  of  all  consolation,  who  comforteth  us 
in  all  our  tribulations,"  pour  into  the  hearts  of  his  bereaved 
loved  ones  the  balm  of  His  healing  and  soothing  grace.  And 
may  the  God  of  wisdom  and  of  power,  the  author  of  all  that  is 
true  and  beautiful  and  good,  grant  to  every  one  of  us  that  we 
may  be  truly  wise,  that  we  may  render  our  lives  pleasing  to 
our  Creator  and  profitable  to  our  fellow-men,  by  living  them 
under  the  inspiration  and  guidance  of  His  holy  faith. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.  The  committee  of  arrangements  will 
escort  the  remains  of  the  deceased  Senator  from  the  Chamber, 
accompanying  the  body  to  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  depot 
and  from  thence  to  the  place  of  burial ;  and  the  guests  of  the 
Senate  will  retire  in  the  reverse  order  of  their  entrance. 

The  casket  was  borne  from  the  Chamber,  attended  by  the 
committee  of  arrangements,  the  family  of  the  deceased  Sen- 
ator, the  clergymen,  and  the  committee  of  the  legislature  of 
West  Virginia. 

The  invited  guests  having  retired  from  the  Chamber, 
Mr.  ALLISON.     I  move  that  the  Senate  do  now  adjourn. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to;  and  (at  1  o'clock  and  48  minutes 
p.  m.)  the  Senate  adjourned  until  to-morrow,  Friday,  January 
13,  1893,  at  12  o'clock  m. 


PROCEEDINGS  AT  CHARLESTON,  WEST  VIRGINIA. 

The  announcement  of  the  death  of  Senator  KENNA  caused 
great  sorrow  in  Charleston.  As  soon  as  the  news  was 
received  the  flags  on  the  statehouse  and  other  public  buildings 
were  lowered  to  half-mast,  and  the  mayor  of  the  city,  Mr. 
Pemberton,  called  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  to  take  immediate 
action  in  regard  to  arrangements  for  the  funeral.  The  citizens 
of  Charleston  and  those  from  other  portions  of  the  State  then 
in  the  city  met  in  the  senate  chamber  at  the  capitol.  Mayor 
Pemberton  presided  and  a  committee,  consisting  of  ex-Governor 
E.  W.  Wilson,  Governor  A.  B.  Fleming,  Hon.  Eustace  Gibson, 
Dr.  D.  Mayer,  and  Dr.  E.  L.  Boggs,  was  appointed  to  draft 
resolutions  suitable  to  the  occasion.  A  committee  of  twelve 
was  appointed  to  make  arrangements  for  the  funeral  and  to 
meet  the  remains  at  the  depot  and  escort  them  to  the  capitol. 
Brief  but  touching  speeches  were  made  by  a  number  of  the 
prominent  men  who  were  present. 

ACTION,  OF   THE   LEGISLATURE. 

The  death  of  Mr.  KENNA  was  announced  in  both  houses  of 
the  legislature  and  a  resolution  adopted  that  the  members  of 
the  senate  and  house  of  delegates  should  meet  the  remains  at 
the  railroad  station  and  accompany  them  to  the  state  capitol; 
a  committee  was  appointed  from  each  house  to  proceed  to 
Washington  and  escort  the  body  to  Charleston ;  and  upon  the 
day  of  the  funeral  the  legislature  adjourned  to  enable  its  mem- 
bers to  attend. 

29 


30  Proceedings  at  Charleston,  W.  la. 

The  proceedings  in  the  senate  were  very  impressive.  Gen. 
C.  C.  Watts,  speaking  both  as  an  intimate  friend  and  as  one 
who  spoke  for  the  people  of  West  Virginia,  announced  the 
deatli  of  Senator  KENNA  in  the  following  words: 

"Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  I  arise  to  perform  the  saddest  duty  of  my 
life.  It  is  to  convey  to  this  senate  the  sad  intelligence  of  the 
death  of  our  distinguished  Senator,  JOHN  EDWAKU  KENNA. 
My  first  acquaintance  with  Mr.  KENNA  began  twenty  five  years 
ago,  when  as  mere  boys  we  entered  upon  the  practice  of  the 
law.  I  was  intimately  associated  with  him  and  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  the  ins  and  outs  of  his  life.  Prom  my  first 
acquaintance  with  him  up  to  the  time  he  was  elected  prosecut- 
ing attorney,  and  from  that  day  until  this,  the  people  of  West 
Virginia  have  watched  his  career  with  pride.  They  have 
•watched  him  as  a  public  servant,  elected  when  but  a  boy  some 
twenty-four  years  of  age;  watched  him  go  through  that  office 
into  the  national  House  of  Representatives  as  the  youngest 
member  of  Congress,  watched  his  career  there  and  have  seen 
him  take  rank  with  the  highest,  brightest,  and  brainiest  men 
in  Congress;  they  have  watched  him  as  he  passed  through 
Congress,  term  after  term,  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
adding  to  his  already  early  earned  reputation,  until  finally  the 
people  of  this  State,  after  his  third  term  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, elected  him  to  a  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate; 
they  have  watched  his  career  there  with  satisfaction  and  pride 
from  that  day  until  this,  when  suddenly  the  news  is  flashed 
over  the  country  bringing  to  us  the  sad  intelligence  that  JOHN 
EDWARD  KENNA,  the  senior  Senator  of  West  Virginia,  this 
morning  at  3  o'clock  passed  peacefully  from  earth. 

UI  deem  it  very  proper  here  in  your  presence  in  the  senate 
of  the  State  of  West  Virginia,  among  his  friends  in  the  State 
of  his  nativity,  to  attest,  as  one  of  his  warmest  friends,  his 
great  moral  worth,  both  as  a  public  servant  and  as  a  private 


Proceedings  at  Charleston,  W,  Va.  31 

citizen.  Few  men  in  this  or  any  other  age  have  displayed  a 
bigger  brain,  a  warmer  heart,  or  a  more  sublime  character  than 
JOHN  EDWARD  KENNA. 

"  Mr.  President,  in  the  midst  of  the  depression  and  gloom 
which  surrounds  us,  I  can  not  find  further  words  to  express  my 
feelings  for  him  who  was  niy  dearest  friend  on  earth.  I  sub- 
mit, sir,  to  the  clerk  of  the  senate,  the  following  resolutions 
and  ask  that  they  be  read  and  adopted." 

The  resolutions  which  were  submitted  were  as  follows: 

Whereas  we  have  just  learned  with  feelings  of  the  most  profound  regret 
and  sorrow  of  the  sad  death  of  the  Hon.  JOHN  E.  KENNA,  the  distinguished 
senior  Senator  from  this  State,  at  the  city  of  Washington,  at  the  hour  of 
3  o'clock  this  morning ;  and 

Whereas  we  recognize  that  in  his  death  the  country  at  large  and  the 
State  which  he  has  served  so  long,  so  faithfully,  and  so  well,  in  particular, 
have  suffered  a  loss  which  must  he  appreciated  by  every  citizen  of  this 
State  who  loved  him  as  a  friend,  respected  him  as  a  public  servant  of 
incorruptible  integrity,  and  a  citizen  who  has  reflected  a  marvelous  degree 
of  credit  upon  his  native  State:  Therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  his  bereaved  family  our  deepest  sympathy 
in  this  the  hour  of  their  great  sorrow. 

Revolved,  further,  That  a  committee  to  be  composed  of  live  members  of  the 
senate  to  act  with  a  like  committee  to  be  appointed  by  the  house,  to  make 
the  necessary  arrangements  for  his  funeral,  and  if  necessary  to  go  to  the, 
city  of  Washington  for  that  purpose,  be  appointed. 

Resolved,  further,  That  a  committee  of  five  senators  be  appointed  by  the 
president  to  prepare  appropriate  resolutions  on  his  death ;  such  resolutions 
to  be  spread  upon  the  record  of  the  senate. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  further  mark  of  respect  the  senate  do  now  adjourn. 

The  resolutions  were  adopted  unanimously. 

The  committees  provided  for  therein  were  then  named  by  the 
President,  as  follows : 

On  arrangements:  Mr.  Watts,  Mr.  Tarr,  Mr.  Peck,  Mr.  Shep- 
l>;ird,  and  Mr.  Garrison. 

On  resolutions:  Mr.  Watts,  Mr.  St.  Clair,  Mr.  Scott,  Mr. 
Henderson,  and  Mr.  Worley. 

The  senate  then  adjournened. 

The  funeral  train,  bearing  the  remains  of  Mr.  KENNA  and 


32  Proceedings  at  Charleston,  W.  Va. 

the  escorting  party,  reached  Charleston  Friday  afternoon  and 
was  met  by  the  members  of  the  legislature,  the  committee 
appointed  at  the  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Charleston,  and  by 
a  large  concourse  of  citizens  of  West  Virginia. 

The  remains  of  the  dead  statesman  were  removed  to  the 
home  of  his  aged  mother,  where  they  were  allowed  to  rest  for 
two  hours,  after  which  they  were  taken  to  the  senate  chamber. 
The  exterior  of  the  capitol  was  draped  in  mourning  and  all 
flags  in  the  city  were  suspended  at  half-mast.  The  city  \vas 
shrouded  in  gloom,  and  everywhere  were  to  be  heard  words  of 
praise  for  the  dead  Senator  and  of  sorrow  for  his  loss.  The 
senate  chamber  was  hung  in  heavy  black  drapery.  In  the 
center  of  the  room  the  remains,  in  a  handsome  black  casket, 
rested  upon  the  catafalque,  surrounded  by  flowers,  the  gifts  of 
friends. 

THE   FUNERAL    SERVICES. 

The  last  sad  rites  were  performed  on  Saturday  morning. 
The  remains  were  removed  from  the  capitol  to  St.  Joseph's 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  This  modest  building,  which  Mr. 
KENNA  had  designed  twenty  years  before,  was  unable  to 
accommodate  the  throng  which  assembled  to  do  honor  to  his 
memory.  The  building  was  crowded  and  many  were  com- 
pelled to  stand  outside  the  doors.  Both  branches  of  the  legis- 
lature adjourned  out  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased, 
and  attended  the  funeral.  The  governor  and  principal  officials 
of  the  State  were  also  present.  The  solemn  high  mass  of  the 
Catholic  Church  was  celebrated  by  the  Eev.  J.  W.  Stenger, 
assisted  by  Rev.  Father  Marlborough.  Father  Stenger  paid 
an  eloquent  tribute  to  the  virtues  of  the  deceased  statesman, 
Avhose  pastor  and  friend  he  had  been  for  years.  He  said : 

"My  DEAR  FRIENDS:  I  regret  exceedingly  that  the  small 
dimensions  of  the  chapel  make  it  impossible  for  all  the  sur- 


Proceedings  at  Charleston,  W.  Va.  33 

rounding  friends  of  Mr.  KENNA  to  gather  around  this  bier  and 
fully  satisfy  their  hearts  with  doing  him  honor  during  these 
last  moments  of  his  presence  amongst  us.  When,  twenty-five 
years  ago,  Mr.  KENNA  with  his  own  hand,  now  so  cold  and 
motionless,  sketched  the  plan  of  this  small  building  for  the 
convenience  of  the  handful  of  Catholics  who  then  resided  here, 
neither  he  nor  I  dreamed  that  he  would  be  struck  down  in  the 
prime  of  his  manhood;  that  his  mortal  remains  would  be 
brought  before  this  altar  from  the  capital  of  the  nation,  escorted 
by  a  cortege  of  honor  from  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
and  met  by  hundreds  of  representative  citizens  from  all  parts 
of  the  State;  and  that  on  me  would  devolve  the  melancholy 
duty  of  performing  the  last  sad  rites  of  the  church  over  him. 
"Before  the  altar  of  God,  in  the  presence  of  the  dead,  while 
we  are  pleading  in  the  prayers  of  the  liturgy  for  mercy  and 
rest  for  his  soul,  it  is  hardly  the  time  and  place  to  sound  the 
praise  of  a  mortal  man,  however  distinguished  may  have  been 
his  achievements,  yet,  my  dear  friends,  you  have  loved  JOHN 
E.  KENNA  and  so  have  I,  and  we  feel  that  the  recital  of  some 
of  his  good  qualities  would  not  be  gravely  out  of  harmony  with 
the  solemn  spirit  of  this  occasion  to  our  hearts.  He  was  a 
favorite  perhaps  as  no  other  man  has  been  with  the  people  of 
Kanawha  Valley  in  particular,  and  with  the  citizens  of  the 
entire  State  of  West  Virginia.  There  are  many  here  who  can 
recall  with  me  that  scene  which  occurred  in  the  hall  of  the 
delegates  at  the  capitol  three  years  ago,  when  the  dead-lock 
was  finally  broken  and  JOHN  E.  KENNA  was  again  chosen  to 
represent  his  State  in  the  United  States  Senate;  they  remem- 
ber how  strong  men  fell  on  each  other's  necks  and  wept  for 
sheer  joy  that  the  man  who  held  their  affections  had  again 
come  victorious  out  of  the  protracted  contest.  A  few  weeks 
ago,  when  the  news  of  his  serious  illness  was  sent  over  the 
land,  all  spoke  words  of  pity  and  regret;  and  the  columns  of 
g.  Mis.  66 3 


34  Proceedings  at  Charleston,  W.  Va. 

the  press  of  the  State  irrespective  of  political  difference  were 
filled  with  touching  tributes  to  his  worth.  To-day  you  are 
yourselves  witnesses  of  the  universal  grief  over  his  untimely 
end.  West  Virginia  is  mourning  her  gifted  KENNA  as  Georgia 
mourned  her  eloquent  Grady. 

"These,  my  dear  friends,  are  the  evidence  of  a  popularity 
which  must  be  traced  to  a  deeper  cause  than  mere  success. 
They  tell  us  that  by  some  magic  peculiar  to  him,  Mr.  KENNA 
insinuated  himself  deep  into  the  affections  of  the  people  of  this 
State.  What  was  this  magic  ?  I  have  had  good  opportunity 
of  studying  him. 

"When  he  entered  the  college  at  Wheeling,  in  1867, 1  was  a 
teacher  in  the  institution  and  saw  him  daily.  When  he  came 
back  from  college  to  begin  the  study  of  the  law,  he  found  me 
here  before  him  engaged  in  laying  the  foundation  of  the  Cath- 
olic mission  of  the  Kanawha  Valley.  For  a  year  or  perhaps 
longer,  we  lodged  in  the  same  house,  and  I  gave  him  the  benefit 
of  my  knowledge  of  the  Latin  language,  by  rendering  into 
English  for  him  the  foot-notes  of  Blackstone's  Commentaries 
on  English  law.  We  were  companions  and  friends  in  a  higher 
than  the  ordinary  sense,  for  I  was  his  pastor  and  in  some  degree 
his  mentor.  We  never  became  seriously  estranged,  though 
our  judgments  did  not  coincide  regarding  the  career  which 
already  at  that  time  he  was  mapping  out  for  himself. 

"Being  of  a  more  phlegmatic  temperament  than  his,  addicted 
to  the  slow,  plodding  method,  and  knowing  little  of  the  stimu- 
lus of  ambition,  I  was  most  likely  incapable  of  suspecting  its 
force  in  a  youth  as  strong  in  health,  as  ardent  in  temperament, 
and  as  keen  in  intellect  as  he  was.  I  was  not  in  favor  of  his 
entering  into  politics.  I  could  not  know  what  a  transceudant 
faculty  for  leading  and  swaying  men  was  struggling  within  him 
for  development  during  our  interviews.  I  could  never  fail  to 
see  in  him,  even  in  recent  years,  when  gray  hairs  had  begun 


Proceedings  at  Charleston,  W.  Va.  35 

to  show  on  his  temples,  and  lines  of  care  in  his  face,  the  same 
familiar  boy.  His  gayety  was  infectious,  and  it  was  no  doubt 
a  strong  element  of  the  charm  that  won  for  him  the  hearts  of 
men.  It  continued  with  him  amid  the  cares  of  public  life.  It 
was  with  him  in  the  domestic  circle.  I  fear  almost  to  speak 
of  it  in  the  hearing  of  his  tearful  children,  for  to  them  he  wa& 
no  less  the  jolly  playfellow  than  the  ruler  of  the  household*. 

"But  behind  this  unquenchable  gayety  there  was  a  man- 
hood of  the  strongest  type.  He  loved  what  is  manly.  He 
loved  what  challenges  the  courage  and  energy  of  a  man.  The 
sports  which  he  preferred  were  of  this  nature,  so  also  were  the 
serious  tasks  of  his  life.  To  vault  from  the  office  of  prose- 
cuting attorney  of  a  West  Virginia  county  into  the  place  of  a 
United  States  Congressman  was  a  feat  that  tempted  his  cour- 
age. He  accomplished  it.  He  maintained  himself  there  for 
three  terms,  then  won  his  way  still  higher.  And  when  he 
found  himself  in  the  eminence,  he  was  not  content  to  be  an 
incompetent  figurehead,  but  soon  mastered  measures  and 
methods  and  made  himself  eminently  useful  to  the  people 
whose  commission  he  bore.  He  was  also  manly  under  reverses 
and  sorrows.  It  was  during  his  first  effort  to  get  to  Congress 
that  the  sickness  and  death  of  his  first  wife  called  him  to  her 
bedside  and  then  to  her  grave.  He  bore  up  under  the  blow 
with  uncomplaining  fortitude  that  won  the  sympathy  and  ad- 
miration of  all  the  people  of  this  city.  I  shall  say  nothing 
further  about  him  as  a  public  man.  It  would  be  cruel  to  de- 
tain you  longer  in  this  cold  church;  still  as  his  pastor  during 
more  than  twenty-six  years,  I  am  entitled  to  the  privilege  of 
saying  only  a  few  words  about  his  religious  faith. 

"  He,  himself,  would  protest  against  my  exhibiting  him  as  a 
Christian  of  tender  piety,  but  I  truthfully  and  heartily  bear 
testimony  that  he  had  a  sincere  and  strong  Catholic  faith. 
When  he  was  ready  to  enter  public  life  he  never  felt  the  temp- 


36  Proceedings  at  Charleston,  W.  Va. 

tation  to  fling  aside  his  faith  that  might  handicap  him  in  the 
race  for  position.  He  never  felt  called  upon  to  apologize  for 
his  creed  under  a  government  that  leaves  every  man  free  to 
worship  his  Maker  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience. 
While  he  did  not  obtrusively  proclaim  his  religion  from  the 
.housetops,  he  was  willing  that  the  world  should  know  that  he 
believed  in  the  doctrines  of  the  old  church  and  acknowl- 
edged the  supremacy  of  the  Pope.  There  were,  perhaps, 
periods  when  the  preoccupation  of  his  politics  caused  him  to 
adjourn  the  consideration  of  his  religious  duties  longer  than 
he  should  have  done,  but  he  never  thought  of  entirely  aban- 
doning them.  On  Sundays,  when  in  town,  he  faithfully  occu- 
pied his  place  in  church,  and  he  was  seen,  too,  at  the  com- 
munion railing. 

"  On  the  day  of  his  eldest  boy's  first  communion  he  gave  my 
congregation  the  edification  of  seeing  him  kneeling  humbly 
at  the  railing  with  the  boy  and  professing  his  faith,  in  the  real 
presence.  As  for  his  faults,  he  was  honest  enough  to  admit 
them.  He  is  dead,  and  it  is  not  our  province  to  settle  the 
account  between  him  and  his  Maker.  God  in  His  mercy 
accorded  him  the  time  during  his  painful  last  illness  to  regu- 
late the  affairs  of  his  conscience." 

The  active  pall-bearers  were  Mr.  E.  Ballard,  Mr.  John  Van 
Buren,  Gen.  C.  0.  Watts,  Mr.  0.  C.  Lewis,  Mr.  A.  P.  Chilton, 
Mr.  Joseph  Chilton,  Mr.  Joseph  O'Grady,  and  Mr.  C.  K.  McDer- 
mott,  all  of  Charleston.  The  honorary  pall-bearers  were  the 
members  of  the  committees  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, and  Hon.  C.  P.  Snyder,  Mr.  J.  H.  Huling,  Mr.  E. 
L.  Butterick,  Mr.  S.  S.  Green,  Dr.  John  P.  Hale,  Mr.  William 
F.  Goshorn,  Dr.  James  £T.  Mahan,  and  Judge  J.  D.  Brown. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  religious  ceremonies  the  remains  of 
JOHN  EDWARD  KENNA  were  borne  past  groups  of  sorrowing 
men  and  women  and  children  who  had  known  and  loved  him, 
and  laid  to  rest  in  the  Catholic  Cemetery. 


Joint  Resolution  and  Act  of  Legislature  of  West  Virginia.   37 


January  25,  1893,  the  legislature  of  West.  Virginia  passed  a 
joint  resolution  requesting  the  Bepresentatives  of  the  State  in 
Congress  to  take  the  necessary  steps  to  secure  the  desk  and 
chair  lately  used  in  the  Senate  by  JOHN  EDWARD  KENNA, 
and  that  the  same  be  forwarded  to  Charleston,  W.  Va.,  there 
to  be  kept  permanently  in  the  statehouse  in  said  city  as  the 
property  of  the  State. 

Before  the  legislature  adjourned  it  provided  that  a  statue  of 
Senator  KENNA  should  be  placed  in  the  Statuary  Hall  in  the 
Capitol  at  Washington.  The  act  is  as  follows : 

AN  ACT  to  provide  for  the  presentation  to  Congress  of  a  statue  of  JOHN  E.  KENNA,  and 
making  an  appropriation  to  pay  for  same. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  legislature  of  West  Virginia,  That  the  governor,  presi- 
dent of  the  senate,  and  speaker  of  the  house  of  delegates,  ex-officio,  and  J. 
E.  Dana,  A.  W.  Campbell,  Johnson  N.  Camden,  and  Charles  J.  Faulkner 
shall  constitute  a  commission  to  procure  from,  a  competent  artist  a  statue 
of  JOHN  E.  KENNA,  in  marble,  to  be  erected  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington, 
in  pursuance  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States ;  said  presentation  shall  be 
made  as  a  part  of  the  contribution  of  the  State  of  West  Virginia  to  the 
national  gallery. 

2.  The  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  neces- 
sary, is  hereby  appropriated  out  of  any  money  in  the  treasury  not  other- 
wise appropriated,  to  pay  for  the  said  statue  and  its  erection,  as  provided 
in  section  one  of  this  act ;  and  the  auditor  shall  issue  his  warrant  upon  the 
treasurer  for  the  price  of  such  statue  and  its  erection,  not  to  exceed  the 
sum  aforesaid,  when  the  said  commission,  or  a  majority  of  them,  shall  cer- 
tify the  price  of  such  statue  to  him,  that  same  has  been  erected  as  afore- 
said. 

3.  The  members  of  said  commission  shall  serve  without  compensation. 
Passed  February  20,  1893. 

Approved  February  22,  1893. 

[NOTE   BY   THE   CLERK   OF  THE   HOUSE   OF   DELEGATES.] 

The  foregoing  act  takes  effect  from  its  passage,  two-thirds  of  the  mem- 
bers elected  to  each  house,  by  a  vote  taken  by  yeas  and  nays,  having  so 
directed. 


EULOGIES  IN  THE  SENATE. 


MONDAY,  February  27, 1893. 

Mr.  FAULKNER.  Mr.  President,  pursuant  to  notice  hereto- 
fore given,  I  submit  the  resolutions  which  I  send  to  the  desk, 
and  ask  that  they  be  now  read  and  considered. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.    The  resolutions  will  be  read. 

The  Chief  Clerk  read  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  has  heard  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  death 
of  Hon.  JOHN  E.  KENXA,  late  a  Senator  from  the  State  of  West  Virginia, 
and  extends  to  his  afflicted  family  sincere  sympathy  and  condolence  in 
their  bereavement. 

Resolved,  That  as  an  additional  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  Mr. 
KENNA  the  legislative  business  of  the  Senate  be  now  suspended  in  order 
that  his  former  associates  in  this  body  may  pay  fitting  tribute  to  his 
memory. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate  be  directed  to  transmit  to  the 
family  of  the  deceased,  and  also  to  the  governor  of  West  Virginia,  a  certi- 
fied copy  of  these  resolutions,  with  a  statement  of  the  action  of  the  Senate 
thereon. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate  communicate  these  resolu- 
tions to  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Resolved,  That,  as  a  further  testimonial  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the 
deceased  Senator,  the  Senate  do  now  adjourn. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  FAULKNER,  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  In  the  name  of  the  people  of  a  State  who  in 
life  respected,  admired,  and  loved  JOHN  EDWARD  KENNA,  and 
who,  now  that  death  has  claimed  him  as  his  own,  without  dis- 

39 


40     Address  of  Mr.  Faulkner,  of  We$t  Virginia,  on  the 

tinction  of  party,  section,  creed,  or  faction,  sincerely  mourn 
the  loss  of  a  gifted  son,  I  ask  that  the  legislative  business  be 
temporarily  suspended,  that  the  representatives  of  the  States 
may  unite  in  a  last  sad  tribute  to  the  memory  of  an  associate 
whom  all  admired  for  his  high  intellectual  gifts,  and  many,  yes 
very  many,  loved  for  those  bright,  social,  and  genial  traits  of 
character  that  fascinated  and  charmed,  and  who  now — 

Long  for  the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand, 
And  the  sound  of  a  voice  that  is  still. 

Mr.  President,  no  public  man  has  ever  been  in  closer  touch 
with  the  people  of  my  State,  and  I  doubt  whether,  in  the  future, 
any  other  will  so  endear  himself  to  them  by  his  personality  and 
public  services  as  Mr.  KENNA.  His  frank  and  manly  greeting; 
his  genial  companionship;  his  fund  of  anecdote  and  illustra- 
tion; his  unique  and  striking  expressions ;  his  love  of  hunting, 
fishing,  and  all  the  manly  sports;  his  undaunted  courage  and 
unswerving  integrity;  his  liberality  and  unselfishness;  his 
tender  pathos  and  burning  eloquence,  all  united  in  a  person- 
ality representing  the  most  perfect  specimen  of  physical  man- 
hood, made  him  the  idol  of  many  and  caused  him  to  be 
respected,  admired,  and  beloved  by  all. 

His  death  was  not  only  a  public  calamity,  but  a  personal 
bereavement  to  the  people  he  so  long  and  ably  represented. 
Nothing  was  left  undone  by  the  State  or  the  citizens  that 
could  give  emphasis  to  the  sentiment  of  public  and  private 
misfortune.  The  legislature,  by  resolutions,  gave  expression 
to  the  sentiment  of  our  people.  The  press,  without  distinc- 
tion of  party,  laid  upon  his  casket  the  garlands  of  its  highest 
tribute.  A  joint  committee  of  the  two  houses  was  appointed 
to  proceed  to  this  city  and  with  the  committee  of  Congress  to 
escort  his  remains  to  the  capital  of  the  State,  where,  sur- 
rounded by  all  the  evidences  and  emblems  of  a  grateful  peo- 


Lije  and  Character  of  John  Edivard  Kenna.          41 

pie's  profound  sorrow,  thousands  gazed  upon  that  calm,  strong, 
brave  face  never  to  be  seen  again — 

'Till  impregnate  with  Jehovah's  blast, 

Graves  bring  forth,  and  at  His  menace  dread, 

In  the  smoke  of  planets  melting  fast,  , 

Once  again  the  tombs  give  up  their  dead. 

Mr.  KENNA  was  born  in  Kanawha  County,  Va.,  now  West 
Virginia,  April  10,  1848,  and  died  in  the  city  of  Washington 
on  the  llth  day  of  January,  1893. 

Philosophy  but  confirms  the  teachings  of  experience,  that 
man's  character,  to  a  great  extent,  is  molded  and  fashioned  by 
the  circumstances  which  surrounded  its  growth  and  develop- 
ment. The  youth  and  manhood  of  Mr.  KENNA  were  but  an 
illustration  of  this  truth.  His  magnificent  physique;  his  vig- 
orous intellect;  his  courageous  and  independent  spirit,  were 
not  the  results  of  a  condition  of  luxury  and  ease,  but  the 
development  of  these  characteristics,  which  were  so  marked 
in  our  deceased  friend,  was  stimulated  by  the  necessities  by 
which  he  was  confronted. 

Left  fatherless,  by  one  of  those  inscrutable  dispensations  of 
Providence,  at  the  early  age  of  eight  years,  he  realized  even 
then  that  on  him  would  soon  devolve  the  care  and  support  of  a 
loving  mother  and  two  younger  sisters.  In  1858,  Mrs.  Keuna 
and  her  three  children  removed  to  the  State  of  Missouri, 
residing  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  Lewis,  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Kenua, 
where  they  remained  until  after  the  breaking  out  of  the  late 
civil  war.  It  was  upon  this  farm,  and  at  the  early  age  of  11 
years,  that  he  commenced  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  the 
family. 

Frequently  have  his  associates  in  this  Chamber  heard  him, 
with  almost  boyish  gayety,  tell  of  his  experience  in  reclaiming 
from  its  natural  condition  one  of  Missouri's  finest  plantations, 
when  his  uncle  held  the  handle  of  the  plow  and  he  controlled 
the  four  yoke  of  oxen  attached  to  it. 


42     Address  of  Mr.  Faulkner,  of  West  Virginia,  on  the 

Although  at  this  period  of  his  life  he  had  the  advantage  of 
the  tutelage  of  a  governess,  yet  we  are  told  this  did  not  pre- 
vent him  from  becoming  an  "  expert  teamster." 

He  was  passionately  devoted  to  his  mother,  and  being  an 
only  boy  and  the  eldest  child,  he  soon  assumed  the  position  to 
her  of  an  adviser,  counselor,  and  companion.  This  responsi- 
bility rapidly  developed  his  character,  and  fitted  him  at  an 
early  age  to  grapple  successfully  with  the  stern  duties  of  prac- 
tical life. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  enlisted  in  the  Confederate 
Army,  and  surrendered  with  his  command  at  Shreveport,  La., 
in  June,  1865. 

In  youth,  as  in  manhood,  one  of  his  most  striking  character- 
istics was  his  firmness  and  unconquerable  determination  of 
purpose,  which  was  illustrated  at  this  period  of  his  life,  when, 
though  severely  wounded,  he  refused  to  retire  from  active 
service,  choosing  to  endure  the  hardships  and  privations  of  a 
disastrous  campaign  rather  than  seek  the  rest  and  safety  of  a 
hospital  couch.  At  the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  KENNA  returned 
to  Kanawha  County,  W.  Ya.,  where  the  rest  of  his  family  had 
preceded  him. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  found  himself  without  an 
occupation  and  with  but  a  meager  education,  but  these  disad- 
vantages did  not  deter  his  brave  and  ambitious  spirit  from  seek- 
ing a  higher  and  broader  field  of  human  action.  In  this  critical 
period  of  his  life's  history  he  was  assisted  by  his  friends,  and 
especially  by  Bishop  Whelan,  and  under  their  advice  entered 
St.  Vincent's  Academy  at  Wheeling,  where  he  remained  for 
two  and  one-half  years.  Possessed  of  a  quick,  bright,  and 
vigorous  intellect,  he  improved  every  moment  of  his  time  by 
earnest  application  to  his  studies,  and  when  he  left  his  alma 
mater  he  had  accomplished  in  training  his  intellect  and  storing 
his  mind  with  those  fundamental  principles  upon  which  he  was 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          43 

to  build  his  future  reputation  as  much  as  any  one  could  have 
done  in  that  period  of  time.  He  then  entered  the  law  office 
of  Miller  &  Quarrier,  the  members  of  which  firm  were  distin- 
guished for  their  learning,  ability,  and  high  personal  charac- 
ter, for  the  purpose  of  reading  law. 

Eecognizing  that  the  law  was  a  jealous  mistress,  no  devotee 
ever  dedicated  himself  more  earnestly  and  enthusiastically  to 
the  divinity  of  his  faith  or  superstition  than  did  Mr.  KENNA 
to  the  pursuit  and  mastery  of  legal  principles. 

He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  June,  1870.  Prior  to  that 
time  there  existed  what  was  known  as  the  lawyers7  test  oath, 
which,  by  its  operation,  prohibited  any  one  who  had  aided, 
abetted,  or  sympathized  with  the  Confederate  States  from  enter- 
ing into  the  practice  of  the  profession  of  law.  In  a  memorable 
speech  made  by  Mr.  KENNA  in  the  Senate  on  the  16th  and  17th 
days  of  December,  1890,  he  refers  to  this  statute,  the  difficul- 
ties imposed  upon  him  by  its  operation,  and  the  struggles 
which  marked  his  life  at  that  time,  in  the  following  language : 

Mr.  President,  I  should  certainly  not  offer  myself  in  illustration  of  a 
great  subject  like  this,  but  when  I  had  returned,  in  as  good  faith  as  any 
mortal  man  ever  accepted  a  situation,  to  my  home,  impoverished  by  cir- 
cumstances over  which  I  had  no  control,  as  were  thousands  around  and 
about  me ;  when  I  had  devoted  almost  every  hour  of  the  daytime  and  the 
nighttime  to  tit  myself  as  well  as  I  possibly  could  for  the  pursuit  of  the 
profession  which  I  desired  to  enter ;  when  I  had  to  build  my  own  fire,  boil 
my  own  meat,  bake  my  own  bread  to  be  able  to  hold  in  my  hand  a  certifi- 
cate that  would  admit  me  to  the  bar,  I  had  to  sit  in  enforced  idleness  for 
six  long  and  weary  months  until  the  laws  which  forbade  me  to  earn  my 
bread  were  wiped  from  the  statute  books. 

Mr.  KENNA  acted  with  his  usual  discretion  and  sound  judg- 
ment in  selecting  the  law  as  the  profession  to  which  to  conse- 
crate his  splendid  abilities.  He  possessed  a  mind  both  analyt- 
ical and  logical.  He  comprehended  the  principles  which  should 
govern  and  control  his  case  with  a  clear,  penetrating  judgment 
that  appeared  to  be  more  the  result  of  intuition  than  reason; 
he  grasped  the  prominent  facts  involved  in  the  record,  and  with 


44     Address  of  Mr.  Faulkner,  of  West  Virginia,  on  the 

a  felicity  of  expression  seldom  excelled  by  one  of  his  years  and 
experience,  he  presented  his  cause  to  court  or  jury  so  com- 
pactly, with  the  lines  of  distinction  so  clearly  drawn,  and  the 
lights  and  shadows  so  artistically  thrown  upon  the  picture  he 
had  conceived,  that  his  client's  case  had  the  apparent  advan- 
tage of  its  presentation  to  the  final  arbiters  of  his  rights, 
objectively  as  well  as  subjectively. 

As  a  lawyer  and  as  an  advocate  he  ranked  among  the  leaders 
in  his  profession,  and  had  but  few,  if  any,  superiors  in  our  State. 

He  was  always  popular  with  the  people  among  whom  he 
lived,  and  his  ability  as  a  lawyer  being  promptly  recognized, 
he  was,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  two  years  after  his  admis- 
sion to  the  bar,  elected  to  the  position  of  prosecuting  attorney 
of  his  native  county  of  Kanawha.  He  entered  into  the  con- 
test for  this  nomination  with  the  ardor  of  youth  and  the 
strongest  ambition  to  succeed.  He  appealed  to  the  younger 
element  of  his  party  to  support  his  claims,  and  during  the 
canvass  formed  friendships  that  were  never  chilled  or  loos- 
ened to  the  hour  of  his  death. 

Tradition  tells  that  it  was  very  important  for  him  to  carry 
one  of  the  districts  of  his  county  that  had  always  been  con- 
trolled by  gentlemen  who  were  antagonistic  to  his  nomination. 
He  personally  took  charge  of  that  section  of  the  county ;  aroused 
his  friends  to  the  highest  pitch  of  enthusiasm,  and  having  tri- 
umphantly carried  the  delegation  in  his  favor,  he  retired  from 
the  convention  to  the  back  yard  of  one  of  his  friends,  and  with 
several  of  his  youthful  lieutenants,  who  had  stood  by  him  so 
loyally  in  the  contest,  engaged  in  the  amusement  of  a  game  of 
marbles. 

Mr.  KENNA  soon  found  the  prosecuting  attorneyship  too  nar- 
row a  field  for  the  exercise  of  his  great  abilities  and  the  gratifi- 
cation of  that  laudable  ambition  which  was  a  part  of  his  very 
nature.  In  1874  he  offered  himself  as  a  candidate  for  Congress 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          45 

in  the  Third  Congressional  district  of  West  Virginia,  but  failed 
to  receive  the  nomination  by  a  few  votes. 

"  Failures  are  with  heroic  minds  the  stepping-stones  to  suc- 
cess." In  1876,  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  years,  undaunted 
by  his  previous  failure  or  the  fact  that  he  had  as  his  compet- 
itors two  of  the  strongest  men  in  his  district — the  earnest  and 
eloquent  Frank  Hereford,  and  the  able  and  brilliant  orator, 
Henry  S.  Walker — he  boldly  announced  his  candidacy,  and 
fixed  his  appointments  with  a  view  of  canvassing  the  district 
for  the  nomination.  His  able  and  logical  discussion  of  the 
great  questions  that  were  then  agitating  the  public  mind,  and 
his  eloquent  appeals,  rallied  to  his  support  a  majority  of  his 
party,  and  when  the  convention  was  held  he  received  the  nom- 
ination and  was  eleected  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 

An  incident  occurred  in  this  campaign  which  well  illustrates 
his  methods  as  a  leader  and  politician.  Mr.  KENNA  never 
fought  under  cover,  yet  at  the  same  time  his  movements  were 
.always  controlled  by  the  most  consummate  diplomacy.  His 
biographer  tells  us  of  this  incident  in  the  following  language: 

The  only  objection  urged  against  Mr.  KENNA  was  his  lack  of  years  and 
experience.  He  had  courage,  and  though  young  in  years  he  had  learned 
much  of  the  world  from  association  with  men.  A  number  of  the  leading 
members  of  his  party  in  his  native  county  issued  a  circular  letter  in  favor 
of  the  nomination  of  Maj .  Hereford.  While  this  did  not  daunt  Mr.  KENNA 
i{  greatly  wounded  his  pride.  He  announced  a  series  of  public  meetings, 
and  addressed  the  people  in  behalf  of  his  own  candidacy.  At  one  of  these 
meetings  in  Charleston,  at  which  a  number  of  the  signers  of  the  circular 
letter  were  present,  Mr.  KENNA,  in  the  course  of  his  speech,  said : 

"  I  have  no  word  of  unkindness  for  those  distinguished  men  [referring  to 
the  signers  of  the  circular].  But  you  will  pardon  me  when  I  say  that  if  I 
could  exchange  places  with  any  one  of  them ;  if  I  could  stand  a  matured, 
successful,  established  man,  in  all  that  the  terms  imply,  and  look  upon 
a  boy  left  in  orphanage  at  eight  years ;  if  I  could  watch  the  pathway  of  his 
childhood,  with  the  obstructions  confronting  it,  and  witness  his  strug- 
gles, his  hardships,  his  labors,  and  his  prayers ;  if  I  could  see  him  march- 
ing on  through  adversity  until  kinder  stars  seem  to  shine  upon  him,  and 
he  was  about  to  attain  through  trial  and  vicissitude  a  position  of  honor 
to  himself  and  of  usefulness  to  his  fellow-men — before  I  would  sign  a 


46     Address  of  Mr.  Faulkner,  of  West  Virginia,  on  the 

paper  whose  only  effect  would  be  to  break  down  and  ruin  that  young 
man,  I  would  be  carried  to  one  of  your  lonely  hillsides  and  there  laid  to 
rest  forever." 

The  effect  of  this  speech  was  seen  and  felt.  A  primary  election  was 
ordered  in  Kanawha  County  and  Mr.  KENNA  carried  the  county  on  a  full 
Democratic  vote. 

Mr.  KENNA  entered  national  politics  at  one  of  the  most 
important  crises  of  our  country's  history.  The  feelings  aroused 
by  that  great  political  convulsion  which  had  shaken  the  foun- 
dations of  our  governmental  structure  from  center  to  circumfer- 
ence had  not  yet  subsided.  Party  feeling  ran  high  and  found 
frequent  expression  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives. The  restless  billows  that  were  stirred  into  activity  by 
the  bitterness  of  party  antagonisms  would  have  submerged  a 
lesa  calm,  courageous,  and  self-reliant  man;  but  cool  bravery 
and  indomitable  pluck  in  the  young  Representative  soon 
singled  him  out  from  among  his  fellows  as  a  leader  on  whose 
calmness,  firmness,  and  sound  judgment  his  associates  could 
rely  with  confidence. 

Mr.  KENNA  at  last  found  himself  a  leader  among  leaders, 
and  in  a  field  broad  enough  to  gratify  the  highest  aspirations 
of  his  ambition.  He  had  a  genius  for  politics  and  statecraft, 
and  loved  the  excitement  incident  to  its  contests.  He  did  not 
seek,  but  when  thrust  upon  him  he  never  sought  to  avoid  its 
conflicts.  Where  the  battle  waged  the  fiercest,  in  the  front 
rank,  could  always  be  found  this  calm,  intrepid  leader.  No 
man's  personality  on  the  floor  of  a  convention  of  his  party 
ever  exerted  more  potent  influence  over  his  associates.  Once 
aroused,  he  was  the  very  embodiment  of  promptness  and 
action.  His  was — 

The  keen  spirit 

That  seizes  the  prompt  occasion,  makes  the  thought, 
Starts  into  instant  action,  and  at  once 
Plans  and  performs,  resolves  and  executes. 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          47 

At  this  period  of  his  life  he  was  a  thorough  student  of  the 
great  public  questions  that  confronted  the  representatives  of 
the  people.  He  mastered  every  subject  of  legislation  that 
attracted  his  vigorous  intellect,  or  that  could  in  any  way  affect 
the  moral  or  material  interests  of  his  constituents.  He  real- 
ized from  the  first  hour  of  his  entrance  into  public  life  the 
great  possibilities  in  the  development  of  the  material  interests 
of  the  Kauawha  Valley,  could  he  secure  permanent  water 
transportation  for  its  coal  and  timber  products,  and  the  most 
enduring  monument  that  has  been  or  will  ever  be  built  to  per- 
petuate his  memory,  other  than  the  temple  which  his  noble 
life  and  public  services  have  erected  in  the  heart  of  his  people, 
will  be  the  completion  of  the  slack- water  navigation  of  the 
Great  Kanawha. 

Although  death  Has  closed  his  lips  in  pleading  for  this  great 
national  improvement,  he  had  the  satisfaction  in  life  to  know 
that  one  of  the  last  acts  of  his  official  career  was  to  succeed  in 
having  the  faith  of  the  Government  pledged  to  its  final  com- 
pletion within  the  brief  period  of  a  few  years. 

Mr.  KENNA  served  three  terms  in  the  House  of  Eepreseuta- 
tives,  and  was  elected  to  a  fourth  in  November,  1882.  The 
Hon.  Henry  G.  Davis  subsequently  declining  a  reelection  to 
the  United  States  Senate,  Mr.  KENNA  announced  himself  as  a 
candidate  to  succeed  him,  and  was  elected  without  difficulty 
in  January,  1883,  for  the  term  commencing  on  the  4th  of  March 
of  that  year. 

Mr.  KENNA  entered  the  Senate  fully  equipped  and  well  pre- 
pared to  discharge  the  new  duties  and  responsibilities  which 
the  confidence  of  a  generous  constituency  had  imposed  upon 
him.  His  experience  of  six  years  in  the  popular  b'ranch  of 
Congress  had  rendered  him  familiar  with  the  requirements  of 
his  new  position,  and  enabled  him  to  at  once  take  a  prominent 
part  in  the  deliberations  of  this  body. 


48     Address  of  Mr.  Faulkner,  of  West  Virginia,  on  the 

No  higher  compliment  could  have  been  paid  the  young  Sen- 
ator than  his  selection  to  represent  the  views  of  the  minority 
in  that  memorable  legal  and  intellectual  contest,  involving  the 
exercise  by  the  President  of  the  right  of  removal  from  office  of 
officials  confirmed  by  the  Senate,  without  giving  to  this  body 
the  cause  or  reasons  for  his  action. 

On  this  occasion  he  fully  measured  up  to  the  requirements 
of  the  position  to  which  he  had  been  assigned  by  his  asso- 
ciates, and  by  his  great  constitutional  exposition  in  vindicat- 
ing the  right  of  the  President  to  remove  from  office  without 
assigning  the  cause,  he  broadened  his  reputation  both  as  a 
lawyer  and  as  a  statesman,  and  commanded  the  admiration 
of  his  distinguished  competitor,  the  venerable  Senator  from 
Vermont,  whose  legal  ability,  logical  power,  and  biting  satire 
are  so  well  remembered  in  this  Chamber^  I  do  not  think  I 
use  the  language  of  exaggeration  when  I  claim  that  the  mas- 
terly reasoning,  the  able  and  forcible  presentation  of  the  case, 
and  the  overwhelming  precedents  submitted  by  Mr.  KENNA 
in  that  great  debate,  left  upon  the  unbiased  mind  of  any 
who  listened  to  it  not  a  shadow  of  doubt  as  to  the  constitu- 
tional correctness  of  the  position  assumed  by  the  President  in 
that  controversy. 

Mr.  KENNA  was  reflected  to  the  Senate  in  1889,  after  an 
exciting  and  prolonged  contest  covering  a  period  of  six  weeks. 
Before  the  opening  of  the  campaign  of  1888  he  announced  him- 
self a  candidate  for  his  own  succession.  No  one  contested  with 
him  for  that  high  honor,  and  it  seemed  to  be  universally  con- 
ceded throughout  the  State  that  the  success  of  the  Democracy 
would  be  equivalent  to  his  reelection.  After  the  battle  had 
been  fought  and  the  victory  won  under  his  leadership,  and  the 
legislature  had  assembled  with  but  one  Democratic  majority, 
it  was  ascertained  for  the  first  time  that  one  member  of  the 
party  would  refuse  to  obey  the  mandate  of  the  party  caucus 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna,         49 

and  the  seutimeut  of  a  large  majority  of  his  constituents  by 
declining  to  vote  for  him.  This  condition  of  affairs  continued 
until  within  a  few  days  of  the  adjournment  of  the  legislature 
by  operation  of  law. 

Mr.  KENNA,  in  this  contest,  showed  himself  possessed  of  all 
the  qualities  of  a  safe  and  judicious  leader,  and  again  exhib- 
ited the  rare  power  which  he  could  exercise  over  others.  He 
inspired  a  devotion  to  his  political  fortune  and  ambition  among 
his  supporters  that  made  them  intolerant  even  of  a  suggestion 
of  his  withdrawal  and  placing  of  any  other  gentleman  in  nom- 
ination by  the  caucus.  Being  present  upon  the  ground,  he  per- 
sonally conducted  his  own  contest,  strengthening  the  weak, 
encouraging  the  doubting,  and  restraining  the  impetuous.  His 
consummate  leadership  was  at  no  period  of  his  political  career 
more  severely  tested  than  at  this  time.  His  triumph  was  due 
alone  to  those  personal  characteristics  on  which  he  so  success- 
fully relied  from  the  time  he  entered  public  life. 

Mr.  President,  the  public  career  of  JOHN  E.  KENNA  is  a  part 
of  the  history  of  his  country,  and  is  familiar  to  all  who  have 
taken  an  interest  in  the  lives  of  those  representative  men  of 
our  Republic  who  during  the  last  sixteen  years  have  formu- 
lated the  policies  and  guided  the  destinies  of  our  people.  Rec- 
ognizing his  national  reputation,  the  legislature  of  West  Vir- 
ginia has,  with  a  unanimity  that  voiced  the  sentiment  of  our 
people,  by  a  formal  act,  provided  that  his  statue  shall  be 
placed  in  the  Statuary  Hall  of  the  National  Capitol,  among 
those  of  other  typical  and  illustrious  men  of  the  several  States. 

In  all  the  relations  of  life,  as  husband,  father,  soldier,  and 
statesman,  he  was  ever  the  genial  companion,  the  confiding 
friend,  with  a  warm  and*generous  nature,  and  with  a  reputa- 
tion resting  upon  a  character  that  was  absolutely  pure  and 
without  stain. 

The  last  two  years  of  the  life  of  Mr.  KENNA  were  years  of 
S.  Mis.  CO 4 


50     Address  of  Mr.  Faulkner,  of  West  Virginia,  on  the 

physical  weakness,  suffering,  and  anxiety.  But  even  his  dis- 
abilities and  the  advice  of  friends  could  not  restrain  him  from 
participating  in  the  debate  resulting  from  the  attempt,  in  1890, 
to  pass  what  is  known  as  the  Federal  election  bill.  Well  do  I 
remember  his  appearance,  even  at  that  early  period  of  his 
illness,  when  he  arose  to  address  the  Senate.  His  face  was 
pale,  and  showed  the  evidence  of  intense  physical  exhaustion, 
and  his  quivering  limbs  told  too  plainly  the  story  of  the  rav- 
ages which  disease  had  made  upon  his  strength,  but  his  voice 
was  firm  and  clear,  as  he  entered  his  earnest,  vigorous,  and 
indignant  protest  against  the  passage  of  that  measure. 

Mr.  President,  the  life  of  JOHN  E.  KENN  A,  from  the  time  when 
his  warm,  boyish  heart  formed  its  first  friendships,  until  the 
day  when  in  the  very  prime  and  pride  of  perfect  manhood  he 
was  called  from  our  midst,  speaks  with  its  own  touching  elo- 
quence of  those  noble  and  lovable  qualities  which  endeared  him 
to  his  friends  and  made  him  the  idol  of  his  people.  His  heart 
beat  in  sympathy  with  all  his  kind,  knowing  no  distinctions  of 
class,  creed,  or  condition  in  its  warm  affection.  Above  life's 
petty  selfishness,  it  throbbed  responsive  to  the  hopes  and  fears 
and  smiles  and  tears  of  all  he  knew.  Obedient  to  the  highest 
and  the  holiest  impulses  of  human  nature,  he  felt  the  kinship 
of  his  whole  race,  and  lived  a  sharer  in  its  sorrows  as  well  as 
in  its  joys. 

In  all  the  changing  scenes  of  niS  eventful  life,  in  storm  and 
sunshine,  his  manly  spirit  faced  with  fearless  front  whatever 
chanced.  He  knew  no  fear  in  life,  and  when  he  faced  the  last 
and  grandest  test  to  which  the  soul  of  man  is  ever  put,  and 
heard  Death's  footfall  nearingfast  in  plainly  marked  approach, 
he  met  him  with  the  unblauched  cheek  of  perfect  fearlessness. 
The  summons  came  at  last  to  tread  the  unknown  pathways  of 
the  "further  shore;"  obedient  to  its  mandate,  no  knightlier, 
braver  spirit  ever  passed  into  the  realms  of  death. 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          51 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  FRYE,  OF  MAINE. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  I  have  never  been  in  full  sympathy,  and  am 
not  now,  with  our  manner  of  paying  tribute  to  the  memories  of 
associates  who  have  died  while  in  the  public  service.  It  seems 
to  me  too  cold  and  too  formal. 

The  fact  that  Senators  are  selected  to  deliver  addresses 
weeks  and  sometimes  months  before  the  occasion  is  an  invi- 
tation to  a  careful  preparation,  which  results  in  elaboratey 
philosophical,  and  beautiful  essays,  but  excludes  all  impetu- 
osity of  speech,  all  words  forced  from  the  lips  by  the  beating 
heart  behind.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  would  be  better  on  the 
day  the  death  of  one  of  our  associates  is  announced  for  those 
Senators  who  wish  to  speak  what  the  heart  then  and  there  dic- 
tates. This  would  seem  like  scattering  sweet  flowers  over  the 
grave  of  a  dead  comrade,  while  our  custom  throws  over  it  a 
mantle  of  snow,  white,  beautiful,  and  glittering,  but  icy.  If  it 
had  been  permitted  me  on  the  day  that  Senator  KENNA'S  death 
was  announced  to  the  Senate,  when  the  heart  was  full  of  the 
loss  we  had  sustained,  when  the  memory  was  crowded  with 
his  virtues,  when  the  soul  was  stirred  to  its  depths  by  emotion, 
I  could  have  spoken  words  much  more  satisfactory  to  me  than 
at  any  other  time. 

I  knew  Senator  KENNA  well,  and  esteemed  him  very  highly. 
I  served  with  him  in  the  House  of  Representatives  for  four 
years.  In  the  Senate  he  was  for  six  years  a  member  of  the 
Committee  on  Commerce,  of  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be  chair- 
man, and  he  was  my  colleague  for  two  or  three  years  on  the 
Committee  on  Foreign  Relations. 

I  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  when  he 


52  Address  of  Mr.  Frye,  of  Maine,  on  the 

took  his  seat  in  the  Forty-fifth  Congress  at  a  called  session  in 
the  month  of  October,  and  a  very  exciting  session,  too. 

Senators  who  have  served  in  that  House  will  agree  with  me, 
I  think,  that  there  is  no  arena  in  the  whole  wide  world  which 
so  tests  a  man  as  that,  which  is  so  certain  to  reveal  real  man- 
hood, detect  all  sham,  puncture  all  pretenses,  and  reward  true 
merit.  Indeed,  it  has  sometimes  seemed  to  me  that  it  was 
almost  brutal  in  the  celerity  of  its  verdicts  and  in  the  execu- 
tion of  its  judgments.  Into  that  arena  this  young  man,  the 
youngest  one,  I  think,  there — my  impression  is  less  than  30 
years  of  age — came  for  trial,  fresh  from  a  law  office  in  West 
Virginia,  without  previous  legislative  experience. 

He  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Commerce, 
and  I  remember  very  early  in  that  session  there  was  a  bill 
before  the  House  providing  for  the  distribution  of  its  business, 
which  interfered  very  seriously  with  the  jurisdiction  of  that 
committee.  It  was  an  exciting  occasion.  Senator  KENNA  was 
utterly  unknown.  Of  a  sudden  he  sprang  to  the  defense  of  the 
committee  to  which  he  had  just  been  appointed,  and  I  am  not 
saying  too  much,  I  am  not  open  to  the  charge  of  exaggeration, 
when  I  declare  that  from  that  moment  Senator  KENNA'S  repu- 
tation was  established.  He  made  a  most  powerful  appeal  in 
defense  of  his  committee,  attracting  and  holding  the  attention 
of  the  entire  House. 

I  think  in  the  month  of  January,  later  on,  he  had  charge  of 
a  very  important  bill — which  is  unusual  for  so  young  a  mem- 
ber— a  bill  extending  aid  to  the  Woodruff  polar  expedition. 
It  was  very  sharply  contested.  Senator  KENNA  managed  it 
with  wonderful  skill.  Evidently  he  had  marked  out  his  par- 
liamentary pathway  with  great  care,  and  allowed  nothing  to 
swerve  him  from  it.  He  carried  it  through  successfully,  and 
achieved  a  wonderful  victory  for  so  young  and  inexperienced  a 
man. 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          53 

Alexander  H.  Stephens  was  an  exceedingly  interested  and 
careful  observer  of  the  contest,  and  he  wrote  in  Senator 
KENNA'S  album  a  week  or  two  afterwards  these  lines : 

It  was  your  first  bill.  It  was  a  measure  of  great  public  importance,  and 
the  manner  in  which  you  so  skillfully  and  successfully  conducted  it  to  its 
final  passage  deservedly,  allow  me  to  say,  won  for  you  not  only  my  own, 
but  the  admiration  of  the  House. 

Such  a  victory  as  that  and  such  congratulations  as  Mr. 
KENNA  received  at  the  time  would  have  turned  the  head  of 
a  weak  man;  but  Mr.  KENNA  had  sound,  practical,  common 
sense,  without  which  genius  is  compelled  to  record  a  great  many 
sad  failures. 

I  remember  later  on  in  his  career  he  made  two  or  three  very 
noticeable,  indeed  powerful  speeches  on  financial  and  eco- 
nomic, questions. 

He  was  a  hard  worker,  a  man  who  had  the  capacity,  and  not 
only  the  capacity  but  the  inclination  to  work;  and  we  all  know 
that  in  Congress,  as  everywhere  else,  that  is  worth  a  great  deal 
more  than  genius,  indeed  that  it  is  an  absolute  essential  to 
success. 

Mr.  KENNA'S  manner  of  thinking  and  of  talking  was  logical. 
He  very  frequently  took  part  in  the  five  and  ten  minute  debates 
in  the  House,  the  most  interesting,  the  most  effective,  and  yet 
the  most  trying  discussions  which  arise  in  any  body  in  the 
whole  world;  and  he  came  to  be  regarded  as  an  exceed- 
ingly effective  disputant. 

So  long  as  1  remained  in  the  House  with  Mr.  KENNA  he  con- 
tinued to  grow,  and  when  I  left  that  arena  it  had  rendered 
its  verdict  as  to  him,  and  his  reputation  was  thoroughly  and 
completely  established. 

In  1883, 1  think  it  was,  he  came  to  the  Senate  to  succeed  Mr. 
Davis.  He  brought  here  with  him  the  laurels  he  had  faith- 
fully and  justly  won  in  the  House  of  Eepreseutatives.  He  had 
been  here  some  little  time  before  he  took  any  part  in  the  de- 


54  Address  of  Mr.  Frye,  of  Maine,  on  the 

bates.  I  remember  perfectly  well  his  first  speech.  It  was  on 
a  very  important  subject,  at  that  time  attracting  great  atten- 
tion— interstate  commerce.  He  commanded  the  close  attention 
of  this  body;  and  we  know  from  experience  that  no  greater 
compliment  than  that  can  be  bestowed  on  the  speaker. 

I  remember  the  speech  to  which  his  colleague  [Mr.  FAULK- 
NER] has  referred.  It  was  one  of  the  most  exhaustive  I  have 
ever  heard.  It  involved  an  enormous  amount  of  research,  and 
I  suppose  that  his  Democratic  colleagues,  at  any  rate,  would 
pronounce  it,  on  the  whole,  the  ablest  speech  he  ever  made  in 
public  life. 

In  the  Fiftieth  and  Fifty-first  Congresses  he  made  some  very 
excellent  speeches.  Indeed,  he  never  made  a  poor  one;  he 
never  made  one  of  which  even  a  Senator  of  his  reputation  need 
to  have  been  ashamed. 

But  a  terrible  disease  had  fastened  upon  him,  and  the  fight 
between  life  and  death  had  commenced.  I  know  that  Sen- 
ator KENNA  tried — oh,  tried  so  hard — to  do  his  duty,  to  attend 
to  his  committees,  take  part  in  their  consultations,  to  be  in  his 
seat  in  the  Senate,  and  participate  in  the  work  of  legislation. 
The  dying  embers  would  every  now  and  then  be  fanned  into  a 
flame,  but  the  flame  only  disclosed  to  him  the  weakness  of  his 
body.  He  was  patient;  he  suffered;  he  endured,  but  he  never 
complained.  I  think,  though,  he  knew  that  the  result  of  the 
contest  was  to  be  his  death. 

Senator  KENNA  socially  was  a  most  delightful  man.  As  a 
host  he  was  wonderful.  He  was  generous  to  a  fault;  he  was 
charitable;  he  was  kindly;  he  made  hosts  of  friends,  who 
to-day  miss  him  very  greatly. 

He  was  a  very  keen  sportsman.  He  loved  the  mountains, 
the  forest,  and  the  running  streams.  Like  "Fishing  Jiminie'' — 

He  loved  to  bear  the  rush  of  mountain  streams,  the  sound  of  a  going 
in  the  tops  of  the  trees,  the  sweet,  pensive  strain  of  white-throat  spar- 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edivard  Kenna.          55 

rows,  and  the  plash  of  leaping  trout ;  to  see  the  crystal  clear  waters  pour- 
ing over  granite  rocks,  the  wonderful  purple  light  upon  the  mountains, 
the  Hash  and  glint  of  darting  fish,  the  tender  green  of  early  summer. 

Like  him,  too,  he  saw  and  heard  through  these  sights  and 
these  sounds  the  dear  Lord,  who  loved  and  made  them  all. 

I  think  the  last  speech  he  ever  made  in  the  Senate  indicated 
this  recognition.  In  defending  the  Lord's  day  against  what 
he  believed  to  be  its  desecration,  he  said: 

It  has  always  seemed  to  me  a  beautiful  reflection  that  there  is  a  suspen- 
sion of  things  that  are  human  and  an  aspiration  to  the  things  that  are 
God's  in  the  very  atmosphere  of  the  day  that  we  call  Sunday.  The  princi- 
ple of  its  observance  is  indelibly  impressed  upon  our  institutions.  The 
practice  of  its  observance  is  universally  respected. 

It  seems  to  us  that  Senator  KENNA'S  death  was  premature; 
that  his  life's  work  was  incomplete.  I  have  thought  that  it  so 
seemed  to  him,  and  the  eulogy  he  delivered  on  a  young  col- 
league of  his  in  the  House,  I  think  from  the  State  of  Louisiana, 
is  significant  of  this.  He  then  said : 

Mr.  Speaker,  in  the  cutting  oft'  of  one  in  the  prime  and  vigor  of  early 
manhood,  with  a  life  only  half  spent,  the  glory  of  achievement  arising  in 
beauteous  visions  of  a  future  that  is  not  for  him,  there  is  something  which 
makes  an  impression  different  from  that  which  comes  from  the  departure 

of  one  in  the  fullness  of  his  years. 

******* 

\Vhen  Death  invades  the  ranks  of  fresh  maturity  aud  snatches  the  fruit 
that  is  ripening  there,  he  seems  to  come  before  his  time  and  to  gather 
to-day  the  harvest  of  to-morrow.  Such  a  visitation  seems  a  denial  rather 
than  the  end  of  life. 

Senator  KENNA  knows  now  that  it  was  no  denial;  Senator 
KENNA  knows  now  that  it  was  no  end ;  Senator  KENNA  knows 
now  that  it  was  only  an  earlier  beginning  of  a  life  a  thousand 
times  more  glorious  and  more  beautiful,  of  a  life  unshackled 
and  uncrippled  by  pain,  by  sickness,  by  passion,  and  by  temp- 
tation. 

Mr.  President,  within  my  memory  death  never  gathered  such 
a  harvest  of  great  men  in  the  same  length  of  time  as  in  the 
last  month  of  the  old  year  and  the  first  of  the  new.  Five 


56          Address  of  Mr.  Gorman,  of  Maryland,  on  the 

majors  general,  all  of  whom  won  their  rank  on  the  lield  of  battle 
fighting  for  their  country,  one  of  whom  was  said  to  have  been 
the  greatest  purveyor  for  armies  that  the  world  ever  knew, 
one  of  whom  was  even  more  distinguished  in  civil  life  than  in 
military;  a  former  President  of  the  United  States;  a  justice 
of  the  supreme  judicial  court;  the  "  Plumed  Knight,"  that  most 
brilliant  statesman  of  his  generation;  a  minister  of  Christ 
known  and  loved  the  world  over,  so  broad-minded  and  liberal 
that  the  lips  of  a  Jewish  rabbi  were  unsealed  in  a  great  public 
meeting  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  he  said: 

America  lias  lost  one  of  her  great  sons.  Bishop  Brooks  will  live  on  in 
the  memory  of  the  American  people  as  a  uiau  strong  in  body,  strong  in 
mind,  of  an  integrity  without  a  flaw,  of  a  love  Avithout  a  bound ; 

three  United  States  Senators ;  one  the  courtly  gentleman  of 
the  old  school,  modest,  dignified,  and  faithful,  Mr.  BARBOUR  of 
Virginia;  another  a  brilliant  soldier,  an  accomplished  scholar, 
and  an  experienced  statesman,  Mr.  GIBSON  of  Louisiana,  and 
the  other  our  friend,  Mr.  KENNA. 

Mr.  President,  where  are  these  great  men?  Lost!  Forever 
lost?  A  thousand  times,  no.  Where  are  they?  Destroyed? 
That  black  monster,  Death,  could  no  more  destroy  these  great 
souls  than  he  could  stretch  his  icy  hand  upward  and  pluck  the 
stars  from  the  skies.  They  have  simply  crossed  "the  covered 
bridge,"  and  on  the  other  shore  shall  find  delightful  employ- 
ment for  all  their  great  powers  for  good  forever  and  forever. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  GORMAN,  OF  MARYLAND. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  I  wish  I  had  the  ability  to  do  justice  to  the 
memory  of  Senator  KENNA.  The  Senate  has  never  oifered  its 
testimony  of  respect  and  sorrow  to  a  nobler  character. 

For  more  than  thirty  years  it  has  been  my  good  fortune  to 
have  known  most  of  the  great  men  who  have  represented  their 


Lije  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          57 

States  in  this  august  assembly,  aucl  I  can  say  with  sincerity 
that  in  that  illustrious  array  Senator  KENNA  has  had  no  supe- 
rior in  the  admirable  combination  of  his  intellectual  powers 
and  personal  qualities. 

I  may  have  been  carried  by  a  fervent  friendship  beyond  the 
limits  of  exact  accuracy  in  this  expression,  but  I  have  thought 
of  it  well  and  adhere  to  it  as  the  statement  of  my  deliberate 
judgment. 

Not  to  speak  of  the  living,  he  did  not  have  the  overwhelm- 
ing logical  power  of  Douglass;  he  had  not  acquired  the  rare 
and  vast  learning  of  Simmer;  he  had  not  the  consuming  elo- 
quence of  Henry  Winter  Davis ;  not  the  grand  rhetorical  sweep 
and  range  of  Conkling;  nor  the  unanswerable  array  of  facts 
and  figures  and  reasons  of  Beck ;  but  he  did  have  that  exqui- 
site union  and  harmony  of  every  mental  faculty  and  of  all 
personal  endowments  that  made  him  in  force  and  influence, 
in  all  respects,  upon  this  arena  their  equal  and  their  peer. 

In  the  House  of  Eepreseutatives,  when  younger  by  many 
years  than  either,  he  took  his  place  beside  Kaudall  and  Cox, 
and  Elaine  and  Garfield;  and  in  the  Senate,  when  the  youngest 
Senator  on  the  floor,  he  stood  in  the  front  line  with  Lamar, 
Pendleton,  Gibson,  and  Plumb. 

At  his  time  of  life,  in  a  House  representing  60,000,000  of 
people  and  in  a  Senate  speaking  for  forty- four  States,  to  have 
been  uniformly  a  prominent,  conspicuous,  leading  figure,  and 
to  have  held  that  position  in  those  bright  constellations  wit- 
nesses a  man  of  remarkable  force,  of  great  gifts,  and  of  the 
rarest  qualities. 

In  the  State  of  West  Virginia,  as  has  been  so  truthfully  and 
beautifully  stated  by  his  late  colleague  and  friend,  he  lived  in 
the  hearts  of  his  people. 

He  was  their  inspiration,  their  idol,  their  hope,  standing  out 
like  their  noblest  mountain  peak,  to  whose  summit  they  could 


58          Address  of  Mr.  Gorman,  of  Maryland,  on  the 

look  for  the  first  light  of  day,  and  whose  steadfast  firmness 
was  proof  against  all  change  and  disaster. 

His  career  was  not  an  accident;  it  was  not  the  result  of  cir- 
cumstance or  chance.  It  had  its  origin  in  a  strong,  noble 
nature;  its  source  was  easily  found  in  a  great  head  and  a  great 
heart  constantly  working  together  with  pure  methods  for  high 
purposes. 

His  intellect  was  comprehensive,  active,  acute,  constructive, 
original,  and  contemplative.  The  thoughts  that  came  from  it 
were  broad,  liberal,  exalted,  and  of  uniform  character. 

Nothing  eccentric,  meteoric,  explosive  emanated  from  that 
harmonious  laboratory.  Nothing  was  too  grand  or  too  vast  for 
the  grasp  of  his  intelligence;  nothing  too  minute  or  too  trifling 
for  its  attention. 

His  thought  was  clear  as  a  ray  of  light;  his  reason  was 
strong  as  steel  or  adamant.  There  were  no  clouds  or  mists 
or  vapors  or  shadows  hovering  over  the  straight  lines  by 
which  he  marched  to  his  conclusions. 

He  looked  right  through  a  subject,  unconfused,  undisturbed 
by  any  of  the  fallacies  which  often  distract  and  disturb  the 
judgment. 

His  mind  descended  with  the  eagle's  flight  upon  its  object 
and  seized  and  mastered  it.  He  saw  everything  as  it  was,  in 
its  naked  reality  and  its  true  relations,  unclouded  by  imagina- 
tion, the  fancy,  or  the  passion. 

He  applied  the  test  of  truth  to  every  proposition  with  almost 
mathematical  directness  and  precision.  With  the  serenity  of 
a  philosopher  he  examined  every  question,  and  with  the  im- 
partiality of  a  judge  he  surveyed  every  field. 

He  presented  to  others  the  impressions  and  images  of  his 
own  brain  with  the  clearness  and  fidelity  of  a  photograph  or 
a  mirror.  And  all  his  speeches  were  but  living  embodiments 
of  his  thoughts,  plain  and  clear  as  if  presented  on  canvas. 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          59 

His  arguments  were  constructed  doubtless  from  lessons 
learned  in  military  life;  they  were  organizations,  strong,  com- 
pact, without  unnecessary  ornament — of  rapid  movement, 
always  aggressive  and  dashing  to  the  assault. 

He  defended  his  flanks  and  rear  by  the  vigor,  boldness,  and 
persistence  of  his  charges.  Xo  soldier  ever  used  the  bayonet 
more  quickly  on  the  field  of  battle  than  KENNA  resorted  to  the 
same  weapon  in  argument. 

In  debate  he  was  very  happy,  always  able,  always  well-tem- 
pered, always  candid,  perfectly  fearless,  and  perfectly  just. 

He  employed  no  artifice,  was  never  sinister,  and  with  won- 
derful skill  baffled  his  antagonists  and  held  his  field  against 
all  rivals. 

He  never  inflicted  a  cowardly  or  cruel  or  insidious  wound, 
and  left  no  rankling  arrows  in  the  memory  of  opponents;  and 
he  never  had  reason  to  blush  at  the  result  of  any  controversy 
in  which  he  was  engaged. 

He  looked  with  the  sagacity  of  a  prophet  through  the 
thoughts  and  motives  of  men ;  but  he  read  them  in  the  light  of 
a  brother's  charity  and  a  friend's  indulgence. 

His  wit,  inherited  with  his  warm  Irish  blood,  was  green, 
fresh,  sparkling  like  a  mountain  spring;  but  from  that  clear, 
everflowing  spring  there  came  no  bitter  water. 

His  soul  was  magnanimity  itself.  In  his  generous  bosom 
there  was  no  place  for  envy,  o*r  jealousy,  or  revenge.  Xo  ser- 
pent could  live  in  that  pure  home  of  the  virtues  and  affections. 

He  was  brave  as  a  hero,  but  tender  as  a  girl.  His  sense  of 
right  was  great  and  beautiful;  he  loved  justice,  truth,  and  honor. 
His  sympathies  were  easily  and  deeply  touched  by  others'  sor- 
rows, and  he  was  unselfish  to  a  fault.  From  the  depths  of  his 
heart  he  hated  oppression,  and  his  love  went  out  like  sweet 
showers  to  all  his  fellow-men. 

JOHN  E.  KENNA  was  greatly  beloved — no  man  more  so.     He 


60          Address  of  Mr.  Gorman,  of  Maryland,  on  the 

was  everywhere  welcome;  at  the  Executive  Mansion,  with  the 
Cabinet,  with  the  representatives  of  foreign  peoples,  in  the 
Senate,  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  on  the  streets,  on  the 
highways,  in  the  mansions  of  the  great,  in  the  homes  of  the 
people,  in  the  hearts  of  all  he  was  ever  welcome.  The  hearts 
of  men,  women,  and  children  all  went  out  to  him  as  blossoms 
open  to  the  sun — for  the  sunlight  of  his  nature  shone  upon  all 
of  them.  He  left  behind  him  sweet  memories,  gratitudes,  and 
loving  friends,  but  no  enemies. 

His  nature  was  susceptible  of  great  enjoyment;  he  loved 
horses;  he  was  devoted  to  dogs;  he  delighted  in  the  chase, 
and  was  extremely  fond  of  fishing.  He  loved  all  nature — the 
mountains,  the  woods,  the  streams,  the  green  fields,  the  wild 
flowers,  and  the  beautiful  harvests. 

He  loved  the  great  ocean,  with  its  bounding  and  boundless 
waves;  he  loved  the  Potomac,  with  its  blue  waters  carrying 
his  mind  back  to  his  home  and  childhood,  and  he  loved  at 
night  to  walk  under  the  calm  skies  and  watch  the  eternal  stars 
and  worship  and  adore  their  Creator.  But  above  all  the  beau- 
ties of  nature  and  art,  above  the  ocean,  the  mountains,  and 
skies,  above  painting  and  sculpture  and  poetry  and  eloquence, 
he  loved  his  friends. 

His  genius  was  friendship;  upon  that  altar  he  constantly 
sacrificed. 

His  friendships  were  deep,  strong,  fervent;  they  pervaded 
and  made  his  life;  they  were  his  being  and  existence.  His 
devotion,  his  dedication,  his  consecration  to  his  friends  was 
beautiful;  it  was  sacred  and  holy,  like  his  duty  to  his  country 
and  his  love  for  his  home. 

Who  among  us  here  can  ever  forget  his  daily  coming  into 
the  Senate;  his  entrance  here  was  like  the  light  of  morning. 
We  can  now  almost  see  his  manly  form,  his  gracious,  beaming 
smile;  we  can  almost  feel  the  warm  grasp  of  his  hand  and 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edivard  Kenna.          61 

hear  again  the  sallies  of  his  humor.  But  what  is  mortal  of 
him  has  passed  away,  and  I  must  not  speak  of  his  home  life. 
I  must  not  touch  the  veil  that  shelters  the  sacred  scenes  of 
fireside,  of  affections,  of  domestic  love,  of  the  gentlest,  the 
tenderest,  the  kindest  of  husbands  and  fathers. 

When  I  last  saw  him  he  was  lying  upon  the  bed  from  which 
he  never  rose.  With  eyes  full  of  deepest  affection  and  his  great 
heart  beating  with  undying  love,  he  spoke  of  those  whom  he 
was  to  leave  behind  him,  and  of  his  supreme  faith  in  the 
mercy  of  God. 

Unlike  the  eloquent  Tribune  of  France,  he  did  not  invoke  to 
that  scene  the  enchantment  of  flowers  and  perfumes  and  music; 
but  all  around  him  were  the  fragrance  of  the  affections,  the 
sweet  incense  of  piety;  and  already  were  coming  to  his  ears 
the  sounds  of  sorrow  from  his  approving  and  grateful  country- 
men. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  BLACKBURN,  OF  KENTUCKY. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  Most  men  live  too  long.  This  man  died  too 
soon.  Ere  a  single  power  had  begun  to  fail,  ere  his  intellectual 
resources  had  been  fairly  fathomed  or  his  capacities  fully  tested, 
in  the  very  flush  and  vigor  of  his  splendid  manhood,  he  was 
cut  off.  He  had  accomplished  much,  but  his  life's  work  was 
but  fairly  begun.  In  youth  he  and  poverty  were  not  strangers. 
In  his  boyhood  he  was  denied  even  the  meager  advantages  of 
the  rude  country  school,  in  the  wilds  of  Missouri. 

Before  the  foundations  of  an  education  were  laid,  answer- 
ing the  bugle  call  that  summoned  the  youth  of  the  Southland 
to  battle,  he  entered  the  Confederate  Army  as  a  private  soldier 
when  but  sixteen  years  of  age.  His  father  had  died  when  he 
was  but  an  infant.  Without  relative  or  friend  to  advise  or 


62        Address  of  Mr.  Blackbtirn,  of  Kentucky,  on  the 

guide  him,  amid  the  rude  surroundings  of  the  camp,  he  began  to 
block  out  his  own  destiny.  Without  a  single  advantage,  shad- 
owed by  the  frowns  of  fortune,  he  took  counsel  of  his  own  high 
resolve,  and  staked  his  future  upon  the  integrity  and  courage 
with  which  the  Creator  had  endowed  him.  To  a  nature  less 
strong  or  a  heart  less  brave  success  was  impossible. 

The  boy  soldier  by  his  bearing,  manly  beyond  his  years, 
became  the  pet  and  idol  of  the  camp.  Whether  tested  by  the 
trials  of  the  forced  march,  when  barefoot  and  hungry,  or  wast- 
ing in  the  crude  hospital  from  wounds  received  in  battle,  with- 
out a  mother's  tenderness  to  soothe  or  cheer  him,  the  soul  of 
the  beardless  boy  never  quailed  nor  faltered. 

When  the  war  had  ended  he  sought  to  acquire  an  education, 
but  only  to  be  told  that  his  offer  of  what  little  he  possessed  was 
insufficient  to  procure  the  boon  that  he  coveted.  It  was  then 
that  a  kind-hearted  bishop,  ignorant  of  the  benefaction  that 
he  was  conferring  upon  mankind,  opened  the  doors  of  the  Cath- 
olic college  at  Wheeling  to  the  penniless  and  friendless  youth. 

His  colleague  has  traced  far  better  than  I  could  do  the  rapid 
strides  with  which  he  passed  from  the  college  to  the  front  rank 
of  the  bar  of  his  State.  It  is  needless  in  this  presence  to 
recount  his  achievements  and  his  triumphs  in  this  and  the 
other  branch  of  Congress. 

For  well  nigh  a  score  of  years  he  stood  the  admitted  peer  of 
the  ablest  debaters  of  either  House.  As  a  lawyer  I  can  not 
recall  a  man  of  his  age  whom  I  thought  his  superior.  His  intel- 
lectual methods  were  prompt,  direct,  and  woudrously  incis- 
ive. Measured  by  a  fair  standard,  in  every  field  in  which  his 
capabilities  were  tested,  he  proved  himself  an  uncommon  man. 
The  eulogium  that  friendship  would  inspire  is  not  needed  in 
describing  him.  I  would  rather  speak  of  him  in  language  co 
simple  as  to  breathe  out  the  love  in  which  I  held  him. 

We  have  never  known  a  gentler,  nobler,  truer  man.     My 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          63 

knowledge  of  and  association  with  him  made  me  think  better 
of  mankind.  It  was  in  the  social  circle,  by  the  hearthstone, 
that  we  learned  to  esteem  him  most  and  love  him  best.  But 
a  few  days  since  a  friend  who  had  known  him  long  and  well 
truly  described  him  as  "  a  child  among  children,  and  a  man 
among  men."  Some  weeks  ago  I  received  a  letter  from  one 
who,  in  years  gone  by,  had  served  with  JOHN  KENNA  in  the 
other  House.  His  description  of  the  man  is  so  true  and  his 
tribute  to  his  character  and  memory  so  touchingly  told,  that 
I  am  impelled  to  read  it  here,  in  order  to  give  it  to  imperishable 
print : 

KANSAS  CITY,  Mo.,  January  24,  1893. 

MY  DEAR  BLACKBURN  :  Ever  since  the  death  of  our  friend  JOHN  KENNA 
my  thoughts  have  hung  about  him  and  yourself  as  if  held  by  some  enchant- 
ment. You  and  he  were  so  inseparable,  and  I  enjoyed  and  loved  both  with 
such  intense  delight  that  I  know  not  where  better  to  speak  my  sorrow  and 
praise  over  his  new-made  grave  than  to  your  willing  ears. 

There  was  something  so  classic  and  heroic  in  the  very  face  of  JOHN  KENNA 
that  he  be  witched  me  on  first  acquaintance.  It  was  a  very  pleasure  ground 
to  look  upon ;  an  open  door  to  a  great,  big,  warm  heart,  instinct  with  good- 
ness. One  more  generous  never  beat  in  human  breast.  A  more  chivalrous 
spirit  never  spurred  man  on  to  devotion  and  duty.  A  more  absolutely 
unselfish  soul  I  never  knew.  As  innocent  of  art  in  his  methods  as  a  sweet 
girl,  without  chicanery  or  diplomacy  in  his  exploits,  he  won  popular 
applause  just  as  he  did  private  confidence,  by  the  very  charm  of  his  natural- 
ness and  the  simplicity  of  his  honesty. 

Just  as  his  face  always  seemed  to  me  an  inexhaustible  well  of  friend- 
liness, humor,  and  thoughtfulness,  his  mental  resources,  in  no  debate  he 
ever  held,  in  no  forensic  effort  he  ever  made,  strong  and  eloquent  as  some 
of  them  were,  so  far  from  showing  exhaustion,  ever  left  with  me  the 
impression  that  he  possessed  depths  which  no  occasion  had  arisen  to  fully 
fathom.  Had  health  been  his,  to  enable  him  to  meet  the  supreme  moment 
which  would  have  evoked  into  action,  full  armed,  all  the  hidden  forces  of 
his  capabilities,  what  fame  he  might  have  won. 

At  your  age  and  my  age  of  life  we  do  not  make  new  friends,  at  least  as 
we  did  when  we  walked  in  otir  old  college  lawn,  and  saw  dew  on  every 
blade  of  grass  and  stars  in  every  dewdrop.  When  a  friend  like  JOHN 
KENNA  drops  from  our  circle  it  is  as  a  guiding  star  fallen  from  the  sky. 
There  is  no  luminary  to  take  its  place.  It  is  a  lost  pleiad. 

I  discover  myself  growing  more  retrospective,  looking  constantly  back- 
ward to  the  friends  of  earlier  days.  You  are  a  "grave  Senator"  and  I  am 


<>4  Address  of  Mr.  Cnllom,  of  Illinois,  on  the 

a  "dignified  judge,"  as  the  world  has  it;  but  I  doubt  not  that  our  hearts, 
if  they  could,  would  this  day  gladly  leap  from  the  toga  and  the  ermine  to 
go  back  to  the  days  when  you,  KENNA,  and  myself  first  met  in  Congress. 
We  will  never  see  happier,  brighter  days,  and  I  am  glad  we  got  so  much 

out  of  them. 

*  *  *  #  *  »  * 

As  ever,  your  friend, 

JNO.  F.  PHILIPS. 

But,  Mr.  President,  the  associate  whom  we  knew  so  well, 
the  comrade  whom  we  cherished,  the  friend  whom  we  loved  so 
fondly,  has  finished  his  task  and  passed  from  among'  us.  His 
life  was  valuable  because  of  its  example.  The  world  is  better 
for  his  living,  and  manhood  is  elevated  by  the  record  that  he- 
has  left  for  its  guidance.  Hope  springs  from  the  grave  in 
which  we  bury  this  love.  Listening  to  the  pleadings  of  the 
yearning  soul  we  hear  the  whispered  promise  of  a  hereafter. 
Looking  through  the  light  of  the  love  that  we  bore  him,  we 
m°v  penetrate  the  gloom  of  the  grave  and  beyond  its  yawning 
chasm  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  shadowy  shore  where  the  loved 
and  the  lost  await  us.  My  love  for  this  man  teaches  me  that — 

There  is  no  death ! 

The  stars  go  down  to  rise  upon  a  brighter  shore. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  CULLOM,  OF  ILLINOIS. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  In  sorrowful  remembrance  of  the  deceased 
Senator  in  honor  of  whose  memory  the  Senate  is  now  in  memo- 
rial session,  I  feel  impelled  to  utter  a  few  words  of  eulogy  of 
his  life  and  character. 

In  doing  so  I  shall  not  attempt  to  follow  JOHN  E.  KENNA 
through  his  youth,  full  of  trials,  or  through  his  early  man- 
hood, dignified  by  successful  struggle  against  besetting  ob- 
stacles of  formidable  and  variable  character,  for  that  duty  has 
already  been  performed  adequately  and  eloquently  by  the 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          65 

honorable  Senator  from  West  Virginia  [Mr.  FAULKNER],  from 
colleagueship  with  whom  the  deceased  has  passed  from  this 
Chamber,  made  famous  by  the  genius  of  many  great  men,  into 
that  other  chamber  in  the  somber  membership  of  which  are 
the  patriarchs  of  the  infant  world,  the — 

Kings, 

The  powerful  of  the  earth,  the  wise,  the  good, 
Fair  forms  and  hoary  seers  of  ages  past. 

Mr.  President,  I  have  not  time  in  which  to  characterize  the 
deceased  as  a  lawyer  and  as  a  statesman.  I  have  not  time  to 
picture  him  conducting  with  ability  akin  to  genius  causes  in 
the  courts,  pouring  into  the  mind  of  the  judge  from  his  well- 
stored  reservoirs  of  learning  in  the  law  precedent  upon  prec- 
edent and  adapting  them  all  to  the  facts  at  bar.  Neither 
have  I  time  to  picture  him  as  a  member  of  the  House  of  Eep- 
reseutatives  or  of  this  body,  always  alert,  ready  in  debate, 
strong  in  argument,  earnest,  and  with  such  skill  in  defending 
his  party  and  its  measures  as  often  to  make,  as  it  appeared  to 
me  from  my  standpoint,  the  worse  appear  the  better  reason. 

1  can  speak  of  him  now  only  in  general  terms  -briefly. 

JOHN  E.  KENNA  entered  this  Senate  at  the  same  time  that  I 
did,  in  1883.  Before  his  death  I  had  come  to  know  him  wrell, 
and  to  respect  and  admire  his  qualities  both  of  head  and  heart, 
all  of  which  were  fully  developed,  ripe,  ready  for  use  in  their 
completeness  when  the  inexorable  decree  called  him  hence. 

There  are  public  men  who  attract  to  themselves  by  the  very 
effervescence  of  their  youthful  experience;  their  speech  is  as 
the  popping  of  corks  and  the  spouting  of  wine  from  the  bottle, 
they  create  excitement  and  they  exhilerate.  In  their  bearing 
is  the  breeziness  of  the  mountain  air  of  summer,  which  is  strong 
but  pleasant,  and  is  appreciated  mainly  because  man  enjoys  it 
blowing  deliciously  upon  his  brow. 

These  youthful  statesmen  have  the  assertion  of  egotism, 
S.  Mis.  (JG 5 


66  Address  of  Mr.  Cullom,  of  Illinois,  on  the 

the  assurance  of  confidence,  the  temerity  of  inexperience,  and 
armed  cap-a-pie,  they  seek  adventure  in  politics — in  statesman- 
ship. They  are,  as  Kuskin  says  of  the  Knights  of  Spencer, 
sometimes  deceived  and  sometimes  vanquished,  but  "the  soul 
of  Una  is  never  darkened  and  the  spear  of  Britomart  is  never 
broken."  They  dare  everything,  and  walk  with  jaunty  step 
along  dangerous  paths  by  any  lamp  of  experience. 

In  the  success  of  their  schemes  they  anticipate  the  millen- 
nium. They  see  glorious  visions  of  what  is  to  be.  There 
are  other  public  men  who,  without  being  aware  of  it,  wear  the 
lean  and  slippered  pantaloon  and  in  the  discharge  of  public 
duty  walk  as  with  a  crutch  or  cane.  They  look  at  all  public 
questions  through  spectacles  and  in  piping  voice  are  forever 
saying,  "Be  in  no  haste;  go  on  cautiously,"  or,  "Stay 5  stand 
still  awhile,"  or,  "The  proposed  way  is  not  the  way  of  the 
past."  JOHN  E.  KENNA  belonged  to  neither  of  these  classes. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  at  the  very  summit  of  life 
and  of  his  intellectual  powers,  writh  a  broad  field  spread  out 
before  him  over  which,  if  he  had  lived,  he  would  have  passed 
with  vigorous  step  before  going  down  on  the  other  side.  The 
experience  of  youth  had  taught  him  the  unsubstantial  character 
of  hope  and  had  impressed  upon  him  the  folly  of  yielding  to 
impulse  in  the  discharge  of  great  duties.  He  could  consider  a 
question  without  jumping  to  a  conclusion  upon  it  or  falling 
into  a  nodding  slumber  over  it.  In  short,  mature  judgment 
had  given  to  him  ability  to  act  with  wisdom  and  strength  of 
mind,  ability  to  act  with  vigor,  and  by  reason  of  his  sound 
mind  and  sound  judgment  he  became  years  ago  one  of  the 
leaders  of  his  party,  and  what  is  known  as  a  force  in  this 
body. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  civil  war  associations  and  the 
impulses  of  youth  made  him  battle  against  the  flag,  but  after 
the  struggle  was  over  and  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  his  heart 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          67 

was  filled  with  patriotic  pride  as  lie  looked  on  the  bright  sis- 
terhood of  States,  each,  in  the  language  of  Eufus  Choate, 
"singing  as  a  seraph  in  her  motion,  yet  blending  in  a  common 
beam  and  swelling  a  common  harmony." 

Wise  and  experienced,  Senator  KENNA  was  withal  a  man  of 
kindly  disposition ;  a  man  of  great,  good  heart.  No  mean  prej- 
udice ever  closed  the  flood  gates  of  his  sympathies,  and  he  had 
an  abounding  faith  in  the  people — in  the  high  destiny  of  the 
human  race.  In  the  beggar  in  his  rags,  as  well  as  in  the  king 
in  his  robes,  he  saw  a  man,  the  culmination  of  the  work  of  the 
Creator;  and  although  he  was  in  no  sense  a  visionary,  he  had 
glimpses  occasionally,  or  thought  he  had,  of  the  condition 
sung  by  Tennyson  in  "Locksley  Hall." 

His  hand  was  open  as  the  day,  and  his  heart  was  a  great  temple  in 
which  thronged  all  the  kindly  emotions. 

JOHN  E.  KENNA  was  a  devoted  friend,  a  patriotic  citizen, 
an  able  statesman,  a  noble  man.  I  place  a  flower  of  regret 
and  affection  upon  his  grave,  and  turn  away  from  it  with  a  sad 
heart. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  GRAY,  OF  DELAWARE. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  It  is  so  easy  to  speak  of  our  late  colleague 
in  words  of  loving  eulogy  and  praise  that  there  is  need  to 
moderate  rather  than  give  full  rein  to  the  impulse  of  affection 
and  admiration. 

I  came  into  this  body  two  years  after  Mr.  KENNA,  and  was 
at  once  attracted  by  his  noble  presence  and  winning  manner, 
and  our  acquaintance  soon  ripened  into  a  friendship  which 
will  always  remain  one  of  the  cherished  memories  of  my  serv- 
ice in  this  body. 


68  Address  of  Mr.  Gray,  of  Delaware,  on  the 

He  was  a  "man  among  men,"  made  in  a  large  mold;  noth- 
ing petty  or  mean  found  lodgment  in  his  mind.  Though  he 
was  a  man  of  strong  and  positive  convictions,  he  delighted  to 
take  large  and  generous  views  of  public  questions,  and  was  too 
broad  and  catholic  in  his  moral  and  intellectual  nature  to  be 
intolerant  of  honest  differences  of  opinion,  or  harsh  in  his 
judgments  of  other  men. 

His  talents  were  of  a  very  high  order,  and  in  his  participa- 
tion in  the  debates  of  this  body  he  always  strengthened  the 
side  he  espoused. 

Gifted  with  a  melodious  voice,  a  flue  and  discriminating 
command  of  language,  the  earnest  and  fervid  style  in  which 
his  thought  took  shape  made  him  an  orator  whose  eloquence 
always  challenged  the  attention  of  his  fellows  and  the  admi- 
ration of  his  friends.  Though  so  young  in  years  his  public 
service  was  long  and  distinguished. 

His  strong,  thoughtful  face  and  fine  brow  gave  him  a  grave 
and  statesmanlike  demeanor  that  befitted  the  maturity  of  his 
mind  and  the  strength  of  his  character.  He  was  a  marked 
man  everywhere.  He  was  a  strong  partisan  in  the  better  sense 
of  that  word,  and  had  much  to  do  with  the  practical  organiza- 
tion of  the  party  to  which  he  belonged.  Yet  in  a  close  per- 
sonal and  political  friendship  extending  over  nearly  eight 
years  I  never  heard  him  make  a  suggestion  as  to  political 
action  or  utter  a  word  as  to  party  policy  that  was  not  high 
and  honorable,  or  that  if  published  from  the  housetops  would 
not  have  defied  the  criticism  of  the  most  exacting  political 
moralist. 

But  it  was  as  a  man  and  a  Mend  that  I  am  sure  we  will  all 
love  to  remember  him.  His  cheery  smile,  his  ready  sympathy, 
his  unselfish  nature  endeared  him  to -his  friends  and  made  his 
companionship  always  delightful.  He  was  true,  tender,  and 
brave.  Full  of  that  social  tact  which  springs  from  cousidera- 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          69 

tion  for  the  feelings  and  rights  of  others,  his  ready  wit  never 
left  a  rankling  wound  behind. 

He  craved  the  affection  that  it  was  his  royal  nature  to  bestow, 
and  he  received  it  from  his  fellows  in  unstinted  measure.  Sim- 
ple in  his  tastes — as  great  souls  are  apt  to  be — he  passion- 
ately loved  the  woods  and  fields,  the  azure  of  the  sky,  and  the 
south  wind's  gentle  breath,  and  at  nature's  altar  worshiped 
nature's  God.  How  deep  and  true  the  fountain  of  his  religious 
feeling  was  we  were  told  by  the  reverend  bishop  of  his  church 
in  that  tender  and  beautiful  address,  which  still  lingers,  I  am 
sure,  in  the  memory  of  us  all. 

His  demonstrative  but  unaffected  devotion  to  his  family  may 
not  be  dwelt  upon  now,  but  it  completed  the  circle  of  his 
character  and  crowned  his  life,  as  he  would  wish  it  crowned, 
with  love. 

The  Angel  of  Death,  whose  wings  have  shadowed  the  capital 
of  the  nation  this  winter,  never  summoned  to  its  last  account 
a  truer,  more  knightly,  or  more  lovable  spirit  than  that  of 
our  late  colleague,  JOHN  E.  KENNA. 

I  loved  him  while  he  lived  and  I  sincerely  mourn  his  death. 

The  hand  of  the  reaper 

Takes  the  ears  that  are  hoary, 
But  the  voice  of  the  weeper 

Wails  manhood  in  glory. 

The  autumn  winds  rushing 

Waft  the  leaves  that  are  searest, 
But  our  flower  was  in  flushing, 

When  blighting  was  nearest. 

How  inscrutable  are  the  ways  of  Providence. 

He  fell  in  the  pride  and  strength  of  his  young  manhood. 
His  sun  went  down  while  it  was  yet  high  noon.  To  our  finite 
view  there  seemed  much  of  life  yet  to  be  lived  by  him ;  much 
he  had  done,  so  much  yet  to  do,  so  many  things  that  depended 


70  Address  of  Mr'.  Vest,  of  Missouri,  on  the 

on  him,  so  many  for  him  to  live  for.  For  people  of  his  State 
who  delighted  to  honor  him,  for  the  wife  and  children  whom 
his  death  has  made  desolate,  may  the  faith  be  theirs,  that — 

The  dark  vale  once  trod, 
Heaven  lifts  its  everlasting  portals  high 
And  bids  the  pure  in  heart  behold  their  God. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  VEST,  OF  MISSOURI. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  The  people  of  Missouri  have  watched  with 
affectionate  pride  the  public  career  of  Senator  KENNA  and 
sincerely  mourn  at  his  grave. 

When  a  child  of  tender  years  he  came  with  his  mother  to 
Missouri,  and  passed  his  boyhood  upon  the  farm  of  his  mater- 
nal uncle  in  Carroll  County. 

I  first  met  him  in  the  fall  of  1861,  then  a  boy  of  sixteen. 
He  joined  Gen.  Price's  army  at  the  battle  of  Lexington.  He 
served  with  the  Missouri  troops  in  the  Trans-Mississippi  De- 
partment during  the  war,  surrendering  with  his  command  at 
Shreveport,  La.,  in  the  spring  of  1865. 

Shortly  after  the  close  of  hostilities  he  returned  to  his  native 
State  and  entered  upon  the  professional  and  political  life  which 
culminated  in  his  becoming  a  member  of  this  body. 

The  intellect  of  Senator  KENNA  was  quick,  analytical,  and 
aggressive.  He  was  a  fluent  and  pleasing  speaker;  stating 
his  positions  clearly  and  adhering  tenaciously  to  the  issues 
involved. 

He  possessed  unquestionable  talent  for  public  affairs,  and 
the  future  promised  for  him  many  honors. 

In  his  social  life  he  had  qualities  so  charming  and  lovable 
that  I  shall  always  think  of  him  as  the  genial,  kindly  com- 
panion of  many  happy  hours.  His  Celtic  origin  gave  him  wit 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.  71 

and  repartee  by  heredity,  and  bis  frank,  manly  nature  created 
and  retained  tbe  warmest  friendships. 

Natural  and  simple  in  all  his  tastes  and  habits,  he  was  an 
ardent  sportsman,  and  loved  the  mountains  and  rivers  and 
forests,  amidst  whose  alternating  sunshine  and  shadow  he  pur- 
sued the  sylvan  sports  that  delighted  his  vigorous  manhood. 
Nature  was  his  foster  mother,  and  in  the  grand,  still  beauty  of 
her  solitudes  he  saw  a  mother's  face. 

He  has  passed  away  in  the  prime  of  life,  with  much  to  make 
him  linger  if  that  were  possible — the  love  of  wife  and  children 
and  friends,  the  confidence  of  a  great  State,  and  the  certainty 
of  a  great  career. 

We  drape  the  bier  in  black,  and  yet  there  is  much  to  make 
the  custom  questionable. 

Many  hundreds  of  years  ago  a  monarch  with  almost  limitless 
power  and  wealth  and  knowledge,  who  sounded  all  the  depths 
and  shallows  of  our  life,  wrote  the  plaintive  epitaph,  "All  is 
vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit." 

The  centuries  have  gone  by,  and  man  has  conquered  all  but 
death  and  the  infinite  hereafter. 

We  whisper  from  continent  to  continent  along  the  floor  of 
ocean,  chain  the  lightning  from  heaven,  and  snatch  a  sunbeam 
with  which  to  paint  a  woman's  picture,  and  yet  amidst  all  this 
splendor  of  invention  and  achievement,  what  intellectual  man 
has  not  asked  himself  in  the  silent  watches  of  the  night,  "Does 
it  not  require  more  courage  to  live  than  to  die?" 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  STEWART,  OF  NEVADA. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  late  Senator 
KENNA  six  years  ago  this  month.  We  soon  became  friends. 
Our  friendship  continued  without  interruption  until  his  death. 


72  Address  of  Mr.  Stewart,  of  Nevada,  on  the 

He  was  kindhearted,  generous,  genial,  honest,  and  fearless.  I 
was  fond  of  his  society.  His  manly  qualities,  good  sense,  and 
cordial  greeting  commanded  the  respect  and  high  regard  of  all 
who  had  the  good  fortune  to  know  him  well. 

The  political  career  of  Mr.  KENNA  illustrates  the  possibilities 
which  this  Republic  aifords  to  a  self-made  man.  Of  humble 
parentage  and  limited  advantages  he  rose  through  his  own 
efforts  to  eminent  distinction  as  a  lawyer,  statesman,  and 
scholar.  His  career  in  the  House  of  Representatives  was  so 
distinguished  that  his  fellow-citizens  of  West  Virginia  testified 
their  appreciation  of  his  public  services  by  transferring  him  to 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  His  addresses  in  this  body 
were  characterized  by  force  and  thought,  and  bore  evidence  of 
great  learning  and  research.  But  his  peculiar  characteristic 
was  his  extreme  modesty.  Amid  the  plaudits  and  commen- 
dations which  followed  his  public  efforts,  he  exhibited  no  pride 
of  place,  but  rather  shrank  from  praise. 

He  was  a  true  American  citizen  of  the  best  type.  His  motives 
and  intentions  were  always  honest  and  straightforward,  and 
he  was  inclined  to  think  well  of  his  associates  and  appreciate 
their  good  qualities  rather  than  to  criticise  their  shortcomings. 

His  kind  and  generous  nature  inspired  kindness  and  gen- 
erosity in  others.  The  pleasure  of  his  society  was  never 
marred  by  the  slightest  trace  of  bitterness  or  unkinduess.  His 
death  was  an  irreparable  loss  to  his  family  and  his  immediate 
relatives,  and  a  source  of  deep  sorrow  to  all  who  knew  him  well. 

He  contributed  his  full  share  to  make  the  world  better  and 
increase  the  enjoyment  of  others,  which  is  the  highest  praise 
the  living  can  extend  to  the  dead.  He  performed  every  duty 
faithfully  and  conscientiously,  and  deserved  and  received  the 
respect  of  associates  and  friends.  His  strong  common  sense 
and  intellectual  power  gave  him  a  prominence  in  the  Senate 
of  which  he  seemed  entirely  unconscious. 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          73 

The  example  lie  lias  set  for  the  youth  of  our  country  who 
are  struggling  under  adverse  circumstances  to  rise  to  positions 
of  influence  and  usefulness  is  of  inestimable  value.  Words 
can  not  mitigate  sorrow  for  the  death  of  such  a  man,  but  his 
good  deeds  and  honorable  name  are  not  only  a  rich  inheri- 
tance but  a  consolation  to  those  who  were  near  and  dear  to  him. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  DANIEL,  OF  VIRGINIA. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  In  mourning  the  death  of  JOHN  E.  KENNA, 
Virginia  is  again  one  and  undivided,  as  seamless  as  the  gar- 
ment of  our  rewoven  Union.  While  West  Virginia  sent  him 
to  the  Senate,  no  boundary  line  ever  parted  his  affections  from 
the  people  of  the  Commonwealth  as  it  existed  when  he  was 
born,  and  they  in  turn  took  pride  in  him  and  honored  and 
loved  him  well. 

Within  the  bygone  year,  when  May  was  quickening  leaf  and 
flower,  he  announced  to  the  Senate  the  death  of  my  colleague, 
JOHN  S.  B ARBOUR,  who  had  sunk  to  rest  in  the  fullness  of  years. 
When  the  snows  of  January  lay  heaped  upon  his  native  hills 
he,  our  younger  brother,  was  borne  from  our  side  to  his  long 
sleep  amongst  them,  and  it  is  my  part  now  to  speak  of  him 
who  thus  fell  in  mid  career. 

I  shall  not  recite  the  story  of  his  life  and  fortunes,  so  graph- 
ically has  this  been  done  by  his  colleague  and  those  who  have 
preceded  me.  But  I  held  his  character  and  services  in  great 
esteem ;  I  admired  his  talents ;  I  was  bound  to  him  by  ties  of 
friendship,  which  continuously  grew  stronger;  and  such  trib- 
ute as  I  can  pay  him  flows  from  a  heart  that  was  in  sympathy 
with  his  history,  and  felt  joyous  pride  in  his  achievements. 

Around  the  equestrian  statue  of  Washington  in  Eichmond 
is  a  group  of  Eevolutionary  heroes.  Amongst  them  stands  the 


74  Address  of  Mr.  Daniel,  of  Virginia,  on  the 

picturesque  figure  of  Andrew  Lewis,  tlie  Indian  fighter,  in 
hunting  shirt  and  buckskin  leggings.  From  him  the  hero  of 
Point  Pleasant,  the  conquerer  of  Comstock,  the  pioneer  who 
cleared  the  Virginia  and  Ohio  frontier  of  its  savage  foes — from 
him  KENNA  was  a  lineal  descendant.  Those  who  love  to  trace 
hereditary  traits  might  discover  in  the  character,  tastes,  and 
aptitudes  of  the  scion  resemblances  to  the  ancestral  stock  from 
which  it  sprang. 

As  he  was  the  youngest  member  when  he  took  his  seat  in 
the  Forty-fifth  Congress,  in  the  twenty-ninth  year  of  his  age, 
so  was  he  likewise  one  of  the  youngest  soldiers  who  bore  arms 
in  the  civil  war,  in  whose  travail  the  young  State  whose  Sen- 
ator he  was  sprung  to  being,  a  trooper  in  the  Confederate  cav- 
alry at  sixteen,  and  a  scarred  veteran  years  before  the  estate 
of  manhood. 

Possessed  of  a  strong  and  graceful  figure,  an  open,  engaging 
countenance,  an  ardent,  ambitious  heart,  and  a  quick,  penetra- 
tive intellect  that  mastered  the  tasks  it  undertook,  he  had  that 
passion  for"  enterprise  and  adventure  which  was  the  quicken- 
ing pulse  of  the  pioneers.  From  plow  to  saber,  from,  saber  to 
school,  from  school  to  the  law  book,  his  early  struggles  passed 
quickly,  until  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  was  back  in  the 
county  of  Kanawha,  where  he  was  born,  a  poor  and  briefless 
barrister  in  environments  which  repelled  his  hopes  and  under 
laws  that  disfranchised  him  from  the  practice  of  his  profession. 

The  situation  would  have  daunted  a  less  courageous  spirit. 

All  honor  to  the  republican  institutions  of  this  country  and 
to  the  deep-seated  republican  spirit  of  the  people  which  so 
quickly  swept  away  the  barriers  to  his  professional  and  politi- 
cal triumphs.  ,  All  honor  to  our  free  constitutions,  for  under 
them  and  the  electoral  machinery  they  put  in  motion  no  mili- 
tary despotism  or  political  tyranny  can  long  endure,  no  class 
can  be  long  suppressed  or  oppressed,  no  exclusive  privileges 
can  be  long  monoplized. 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.  75 

That  JOHN  E.  KENNA  so  soon  rose  to  eminence  in  a  State 
created  in  protest  against  the  ideas  which  he  fought  for,  and 
should  be  supported  by  those  who  had  contended  against  him, 
is  a  typical  representative  fact  on  a  glorious  history  which 
attests  the  wisdom  of  our  free  Government.  It  should  endear 
us  to  the  Eepublic  and  to  the  people  who  have  so  triumphed 
over  sordid  things  as  to  give  cheer  and  comfort  to  lovers  of 
liberty  all  over  the  world. 

He  desired  that  his  life  should  illustrate  so  notably  the  prin- 
ciples it  stood  for.  He  was  a  born  Democrat  in  the  most  ele- 
vated sense  of  the  word.  He  was  a  man  of  the  people ;  sprung 
from  them,  uplifted  by  them,  loving  them,  and  beloved  by 
them,  and  in  all  things  true  to  them.  The  influences  of  power 
never  cowed  his  spirit  or  diverted  his  course. 

The  generous  and  independent  instincts  of  his  heart  as  well 
as  the  clear  vision  of  his  mind  wedded  him  to  the  Democratic 
teachings  of  popular  sovereignty,  yet  who  can  doubt  that  his 
devotion  to  them  was  intensified  by  his  own  experiences  of 
their  efficacy  to  heal  wounds,  soothe  passions,  restore  order, 
establish  justice,  and  recreate  progress  out  of  the  ruins  of 
destructive  and  demoralizing  war. 

The  dangers  of  this  Republic  are  not  overpassed.  They  will 
thicken  as  wealth  and  population  increase,  as  corporations 
multiply,  as  central  powers  are  magnified  by  the  exactions  of 
growth,  and  as  the  strain  on  them  is  enhanced  by  the  immense 
interests  that  come  within  their  administrative  jurisdiction. 
We  shall  need  again,  we  need  now,  we  shall  evermore  need 
incorruptible  and  courageous  men  like  KENNA  to  fight  the  bat- 
tles of  popular  prerogative  against  all  these  influences,  subtle 
and  fascinating  as  they  are,  which  gradually  lead  the  Republic 
to  ape  the  splendors  of  imperialism  and  through  its  very  glories 
to  undermine  its  simple  faiths  and  turn  away  its  blessed  aims. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  he  is  the  type  of  many  of  his  kind, 


76  Address  of  Mr,  Daniel,  of  Virginia,  on  the 

and  we  bid  those  who  look  high  to  take  courage  in  the  record 
of  this  noble  man — 

Whose  life  in  low  estate  began, 
Who  grasped  the  skirts  of  happy  chance, 
Breasted  the  Wows  of  circumstance 
And  made  by  force  his  merit  known, 
And  lived  to  clutch  the  golden  keys, 
To  mold  a  mighty  State's  decrees, 
And  shape  the  whisper  of  the  throne. 

The  personal  qualities  of  our  deceased  friend  have  now 
become  cherished  reminiscences.  He  possessed  a  genius  fertile 
and  diversified  which  might  have  developed  into  many  forms 
of  distinction.  Had  he  eschewed  politics  for  zealous  devotion 
to  his  profession,  his  keen  perception  of  facts,  his  powers  of 
expression,  his  just  spirit  might  have  made  him  a  great  barrister 
or  an  illustrious  judge. 

He  had  what  lawyers  term  a  legal  mind,  keenly  analytical, 
closely  logical,  penetrating  through  rules  to  the  reasons  of  them ; 
interpreting  its  conceptions  with  lucid  statements  that  linked 
themselves  into  arguments.  Whether  in  set  speech  or  running 
debate  his  powers  lifted  him  to  the  height  of  all  occasions.  He 
was  an  organizer,  measuring  opposite  forces  and  training  those 
he  led  against  them. 

In  delicate  and  difficult  situations  he  was  no  rash  actor. 
Natural  impetuosity  was  curbed  by  will  and  saving  common 
sense,  and  he  became  the  wise  adviser.  Many  there  are  who 
equaled  or  surpassed  him  in  some  one  of  many  things,  but  few 
who  could  do  so  many  things  so  well,  and  rarer  still  are  they 
who  accomplished  so  much  under  such  conditions  as  he  dealt 
with.  His  ability  was  constructive  whether  he  worked  with 
hand  or  brain. 

With  natural  mechanical  skill  he  built  with  his  own  hand 
the  boats  in  which  he  floated  in  hunting  and  fishing  excursions 
on  the  Potomac  or  the  waters  of  his  native  State.  He  was  the 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          77 

architect  of  the  attractive  house  in  which  he  resided  here,  and 
in  its  ornamentation  may  be  seen  alike  his  design  and  his  handi- 
work. 

The  simple  but  tasteful  Catholic  church  from  which  he.  was 
buried  was  built  on  plans  of  which  he  was  the  draftsman. 

He  loved  nature.  The  gun  and  the  rod  were  his  constant 
companions.  He  was  at  home  with  the  fisherman  and  duck- 
shooters  of  the  seaboard,  and  with  the  deer-slayers  of  the 
mountains.  He  was  an  amateur  photographer  seeking  to 
fasten  the  beautiful  and  grand  features  of  nature,  or  to 
catch  the  fleeting  scenes  of  the  wilderness  or  the  domestic 
hearth  that  crossed  his  fancy.  There  is  no  more  lifelike  or 
attractive  relic  of  the  departed  statesman,  James  B.  Beck, 
than  the  picture  of  him  taken  by  KENNA,  as  he  sat  with  his 
dog  under  a  spreading  oak.  He  was  full  of  good  fellowship, 
a  genial  companion,  a  social  favorite  ;  and  he  had  friends 
because  he  was  a  friend. 

He  was  a  man  of  a  great,  loyal,  loving  heart,  and  it  was 
through  this  fact,  as  well  as  by  dint  of  his  decisive  character 
and  mental  force,  that  he  was  the  successful  advocate  of  meas- 
ures and  a  leader  of  men. 

In  political  life  he  found  a  fitting  theater  for  his  abilities.  On 
the  hustings  he  was  eloquent,  persuasive,  powerful,  effective. 
In  party  councils  he  was  a  guiding  spirit.  In  the  Senate  he 
took  high  rank  with  thinkers  and  debaters,  and  had  he  lived 
in  health  and  strength  his  popularity  and  his  accomplishments 
would  have  magnified  his  career  into  one  of  still  more  brilliant 
honor  to  himself  and  of  vast  beneficence  to  the  State  and  nation 
which  he  served. 

His  home  was  his  shrine.  It  was  there  that  his  gentle  nature 
found  and  shed  earth's  richest  joys  amongst  wife,  children, 
aud  friends.  I  will  not  turn  aside  the  screen  that  hides  from 
the  world's  vision  those  to  whom  his  death  is  calamity  uuspeak- 


78  Address  of  Mr.  Daniel,  of  Virginia,  on  the 

able.  In  his  good  name  and  memory  they  have  all  tha*  death 
can  leave  to  alleviate  its  pang,  save  the  supreme  consolation 
which  is  theirs,  that  he  looked  devoutly  and  trustingly  to  the 
source  of  life  and  light. 

He  did  not  say  prayers  on  street  corners  to  be  seen  of  men ; 
but  he  said  them  and  he  felt  them,  and  his  heart  went  forth  to 
"whatsoever  things  are  true,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely, 
whatsoever  things  are  above  reproach."  On  one  of  the  bleakest 
days  of  this  bleak  winter  the  committee  of  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Eepresentatives  bore  his  body  hence  to  its  final  earthly 
home  in  the  county  where  he  was  born,  in  the  capital  of  his 
State.  The  State  received  her  dead  sou  with  every  mark  of 
respect  and  sorrow. 

The  governor,  ex-governor,  and  governor- elect,  judges,  legis- 
lators, officials,  and  the  people  en  masse  from  far  and  near 
poured  forth  to  his  funeral  rites.  In  the  church  which  he  had 
planned  and  to  whose  membership  he  belonged,  the  good  priest 
commended  his  soul  to  his  Maker,  and  then  in  the  cemetery  on 
one  of  the  mountain  knobs  that  overtower  the  town,  in  the 
primeval  forest  he  was  consigned  to  dust. 

Far  and  wide  was  winter's  waste  of  snow.  Not  a  bird  flew 
across  the  mountain  pathway  to  the  tomb.  The  dumb  crea- 
tures of  the  woods  had  takan  shelter  from  the  storm.  All 
nature  seemed  benumbed  with  cold.  Over  street  and  lane  and 
housetop,  over  field  and  hill  and  valley,  over  the  motionless 
river  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  lay  the  universal  shroud.  The 
boats  frozen  in  the  rigid  stream  lifted  their  white  masts,  and 
the  naked  trees  stretched  their  gaunt,  white  arms  against  the 
sky,  while  range  on  range,  peak  piled  on  peak  rose  the  gleam- 
ing mountains  "clothed  in  white  samite,  mystic,  wonderful." 

Sensibility  was  anguish,  vision  was  desolation,  the  heart 
had  no  interpreter  but  a  freezing  tear,  the  ear  no  prophet  but 
a  moan.  As  the  coffin  lowered  the  snowflakes  thickened  on 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          79 

its  black  pall,  and  as  the  mound  was  shaped  upon  the  grave  it 
whitened  as  it  grew.  Never  to  ine  seemed  earth  so  cheerless, 
its  distinctions  so  small,  life,  so  frail,  ambition  so  empty, 
humanity  so  mortal. 

Yet  the  very  grandeur  of  the  scene  filled  the  soul  with  exul- 
tation. Through  its  somber,  weird  magnificence  shone  the 
majesty  of  Him  who  knows  the  sparrow's  fall,  and  the  sub- 
liine  assurance,  "I  am  the  Kesurrection  and  the  Life,"  seemed 
to  issue  from  His  throne. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  HAWLEY,  OF  CONNECTICUT. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  I  gladly  consent  to  pay  my  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  Senator  KENNA. 

We  first  met  as  members  of  the  House  in  the  Forty-sixth 
Congress,  nearly  fourteen  years  ago,  and  there  his  frank, 
manly,  generous  character  won  him  love  and  respect  on  all 
sides,  overriding  the  widest  differences  of  war  and  peace. 

I  never  heard  from  him  a  malicious  word  nor  saw  on  his 
countenance  an  angry  look,  and  from  the  first  I  have  reckoned 
myself  among  his  warm  friends. 

He  was  a  well-balanced  man  in  his  vigorous  physique  and 
intellectual  force,  his  strong  and  well-governed  temper,  and  his 
honorable  ambition. 

His  life  was  a  noble  example  of  the  possibilities  of  a  republic. 

He  was  without  fault  in  his  domestic  life  and  faithful  to  all 
his  moral  convictions,  as  a  citizen,  a  patriot,  and  a  legislator. 
With  an  unfaltering  trust  in  his  religious  belief  he  has  gone 
out  "to  meet  the  shadowy  future  without  fear  and  with  a 
manly  heart." 


80     Address  of  Mr.  Camden,  of  West  Virginia,  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  CAMDEN,  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  It  was  my  privilege  to  know  Senator  KENNA 
intimately  from  his  early  manhood  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
and  standing  here  to-day  as  his  successor  upon  this  floor  I  am 
profoundly  impressed  with  the  irreparable  loss  sustained  not 
only  by  our  State  but  by  this  body  in  his  early  death. 

A  great  English  statesman,  addressing  the  House  of  Com- 
mons upon  the  death  of  a  distinguished  colleague,  said: 

There  is  this  consolation  remaining  to  us  when  we  remember  our 
unequaled  and  irreparable  losses,  that  those  great  men  are  not  altogether 
lost  to  ns;  that  their  words  will  often  be  quoted  in  this  House;  that  their 
expressions  will  form  part  of  our  discussions  and  debates.  There  are 
now,  I  may  say,  some  members  of  Parliament  who,  though  they  may  not 
be  present,  are  still  members  of  this  House,  who  are  independent  of  disso- 
lution and  even  of  the  course  of  time. 

And,  Mr.  President,  it  may  be  appropriately  said  of  JOHN 
E.  KENNA  that  seldom  has  the  United  States  Senate  paused 
to  pay  tribute  to  the  memory  of  one  of  its  members  who  has 
left  behind  so  many  friendships  and  tender  memories.  It  is 
not  so  much  that  he  had  talents  to  command  our  attention 
and  richness  of  language  and  charms  of  oratory  that  excited 
our  admiration  as  it  was  his  genial,  frank  nature,  his  attrac- 
tive companionship,  and  generous,  manly  qualities  that  so 
endeared  him  to  us  all  that,  though  he  be  not  present,  he  will 
long  remain  associated  in  our  memories  as  a  member  of  this 
body. 

Senator  KENNA  was  the  type  of  man  to  command  the 
admiration  and  win  the  love  not  only  of  the  people  of  his  State, 
biit  all  who  knew  him.  He  had  few  of  the  arts  of  the  poli- 
tician about  him,  and  none  of  the  weaknesses  or  diseases  of 
little  great  men.  He  was  a  typical  West  Virginian,  sprung 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          81 

from  her  soil,  and  a  true  type  of  her  best  manhood.  He  loved 
every  inch  of  her  domain,  and  gave  to  her  the  best  energies 
of  his  life. 

Her  mountains  and  her  streams  were  to  him  not  only  the 
scenes  of  his  prowess  with  gun  and  rod,  but  embraced  the 
homes  of  the  people  who  had  contributed  to  his  early  suc- 
cesses, his  pastimes,  and  his  pleasures;  and  among  the  remi- 
niscences which  circle  around  the  fireside  of  more  than  one 
mountain  home  in  his  old  district  are  the  recollections  that 
JOHN  E.  KENNA  had  shared  their  hospitality,  and  added  to 
their  pleasures  by  his  genial  companionship  and  the  sunshine 
of  his  presence. 

These  people,  Mr.  President,  mourn  not  so  much  for  JOHN 
E.  KENNA  the  Senator,  as  for  JOHN  E.  KENNA  their  associate 
and  friend.  The  official  designation  which  he  carried  among 
men  was  lost  in  the  relationship  which  he  bore  to  them.  His 
frank  and  natural  bearing  and  his  freedom  from  pretension 
and  egotism  was  the  open  road  to  their  respect  and  affection. 

Mr.  President,  we  find  in  the  Congressional  Directory  a  brief 
sketch  of  Mr.  KENNA,  modestly  made  by  himself,  which  forci- 
bly illustrates  his  character  and  career  in  a  few  words.  At 
sixteen  years  of  age  he  entered  the  Confederate  army  as  a  pri- 
vate soldier,  was  wounded  in  that  service  in  1864,  and  was  sur- 
rendered at  Shreveport,  La.,  in  1865.  How  pathetic  is  this 
brief  story.  A  boy  of  sixteen,  wounded  in  battle,  carrying  the 
musket  of  a  private  soldier,  and  a  prisoner  of  war  at  the  age 
of  seventeen. 

At  twenty-two  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar;  at  twenty-four 
he  was  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  great  county  of  Kanawha; 
at  twenty-seven  he  was  elected  by  the  bar,  under  statutory 
provisions,  a  judge;  at  twenty-nine  he  was  a  Representative 
in  Congress ;  at  thirty-five  he  was  a  Senator. 

Such  is  the  brief,  outlined  history  of  the  boy  and  the  man 
who  was  justly  the  pride  of  his  native  State. 

S.  Mis.  66 6 


82      Address  of  Mr.  Camden,  of  West  Virginia,  on  the 

Born  in  the  State  which  accorded  to  him  her  highest  honors, 
on  the  10th  day  of  April,  1848,  we  find  that  up  to  the  still 
watches  of  the  early  morn  when  loving  hands  soothed  the 
anguish  of  his  dying  hour,  the  story  of  his  life  is  measured  by 
less  than  forty-five  summers.  But  within  the  cycle  of  those 
years  JOHN  E.  KENNA  had  served  as  soldier,  lawyer,  judge, 
and  for  sixteen  years  as  a  member  of  both  branches  of  Con- 
gress; and  at  his  death,  after  a  service  of  ten  years  in  this 
body,  was  still,  in  age,  one  of  its  youngest  members. 

He  was  descended  from  a  strong  race  of  people.  His  father, 
Edward  Kenna,  was  an  Irishman  by  birth,  of  commanding 
presence,  who  emigrated  to  this  country  at  an  early  age.  His 
mother  was  the  daughter  of  John  Lewis,  whose  family  was 
distinguished  in  the  pioneer  history  of  the  settlement  of  Vir- 
ginia west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  made  memorable  by 
the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant.  His  .  father  died  early  in  life, 
leaving  young  KENNA  an  orphan,  at  the  age  of  eight  years,  to 
struggle  for  a  place  in  the  fortunes  of  life  almost  unaided. 

Through  the  kindness  of  friends  and  the  partiality  and 
benevolence  of  the  late  Bishop  Whelan  he  entered  St.  Vincent's 
College,  at  Wheeling,  after  his  release  as  a  prisoner  of  war  in 
the  Confederate  service,  where  he  remained  long  enough  to 
obtain  a  liberal  education,  and  was  afterwards  admitted  to 
the  bar  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years. 

Mr.  President,  I  said  in  the  beginning  that  I  had  known 
Senator  KENNA  intimately  from  his  earliest  manhood,  and  I 
recall  with  pleasurable  emotions  many  events  in  his  career  as 
\re  passed  together  along  life's  pathway. 

Soon  after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  in  the  year  1872,  I  was 
the  candidate  of  my  party,  holding  its  regular  nomination  for 
the  office  of  governor,  and  in  canvassing  his  section  of  the 
State  (the  old  Third  Congressional  district  of  West  Virginia) 
I  met  JOHN  E.  KENNA,  in  the  early  morning  of  his  splendid 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          83 

young  manhood.  I  was  at  once  attracted  and  impressed  by 
his  handsome  and  commanding  appearance,  his  warm,  hearty 
cordiality,  and  his  impetuous  and  generous  nature. 

He  was  then  in  his  first  canvass  before  the  people  for 
the  office  of  prosecuting  attorney  of  Kanawha  County,  and 
.although  the  day  of  election  was  near  at  hand,  and  his  own 
chances  of  election  by  no  means  secure,  he  insisted  upon  aban- 
doning his  own  canvass  and  accompanying  me  through  the 
mountain  counties  of  his  district,  against  the  protest  of  some 
of  his  friends. 

I  recall,  as  though  it  were  yesterday,  many  of  his  speeches 
on  that  occasion.  Youthful  in  appearance,  earnest,  logical, 
and  captivating,  he  made  friends  and  won  the  hearts  of  his 
audiences.  On  one  occasion,  standing  upon  the  ground  beneath 
the  shade  of  a  wide-spreading  tree,  he  so  attracted  and 
impressed  his  audience  with  his  youthful  eloquence  and  fer- 
vor, and  such  was  his  magnetism,  that  an  old  mountain  friend 
approached  hiui  gradually  closer  and  closer  until  he  stood  by 
his  side  and  rested  his  hand  upon  his  shoulder,  and  as  the 
>  young  orator  made  his  telling  points  his  old  friend  responded  by 
approving  gesticulations  even  more  earnestly  and  vigorously 
than  the  gestures  of  the  speaker  himself. 

I  refer  to  such  incidents,  Mr.  President,  not  only  because  it 

• 

serves  to  illustrate  the  generous,  unselfish  nature  of  the  friend 
to  whose  memory  we  pay  this  sad  tribute  to-day,  but  because 
memory  delights  to  wander  back  and  associate  itself  with  the 
incidents  of  the  every-day  life  of  friends  as  we  knew  them  best 
and  loved  them  most.  • 

His  election  as  prosecuting  attorney  followed,  and  was  his 
first  popular  triumph.  His  touch  with  the  people  soon  devel- 
oped into  a  popularity  which  challenged  his  ambition  to  serve 
his  people  in  Congress,  and  we  find  him  within  two  years 
after  his  election  as  prosecuting  attorney  entering  the  list 
as  a  candidate  for  the  nomination  for  Congress,  in  his  dis- 


84      Address  of  Mr.  Camden,  of  West  Virginia,  on  the 

trict,  and  although  defeated  by  a  few  votes  for  the  nomina- 
tion, he  accepted  the  disappointment  as  he  always  accepted 
the  result  of  his  party's  action,  but  with  the  determination  to 
be  a  candidate  again  at  the  next  election  two  years  thereafter. 

And  in  the  year  1876  he  again  became  a  candidate  for  his 
party's  nomination  against  two  very  strong  men  as  his  com- 
petitors, the  Hon.  Frank  Hereford  and  Henry  S.  Walker.  Mr. 
Walker  was  an  orator  of  rare  ability,  who,  although  a  com- 
paratively young  man,  already  possessed  a  reputation  through- 
out the  State  as  one  of  her  most  gifted  sons  and  fascinating 
public  speakers. 

Mr.  Hereford  had  served  the  district  in  Congress  for  three 
terms,  and  by  efficient  public  service  succeeded  to  the  chair- 
manship of  the  Committee  on  Eivers  and  Harbors,  at  that 
time  the  most  active  agency  toward  the  improvement  of  the 
Great  Kanawha  River  through  governmental  aid,  the  then 
absorbing  question  of  interest  to  the  people  of  that  section 
of  the  State,  and  whose  reelection  was  strongly  urged  by 
many  of  the  most  influential  citizens  of  the  district. 

But  Mr.  KENNA  found  his  way  to  the  hearts  and  confidence  * 
of  the  people,  and  the  Congressional  convention  of  the  old 
Third  district,  which  met  in  August,  1876,  in  the  city  of 
Charleston,  is  memorable  for  its  long  and  stubbornly  fought 
contest,  the  balloting  continuing  for  three  days,  and  at  mid- 
night of  the  third  day  young  KENNA'S  candidacy  was  crowned 
with  success  and  he  was  borne  in  triumph  on  the  shoulders 
of  his  loyal  friends,  who  had  stood  by  his  banner  throughout 
the  varying  vicissitudes  of  the  contest/ 

It  is  fitting  to  call  to  mind  here,  Mr.  President,  that  all 
three  of  the  competitors  in  that  noted  struggle  of  a  few 
years  ago  have  passed  over  to  the  great  majority  on  the  other 
shore — Hereford,  in  the  ripeness  of  years  and  honors,  after 
having  served  as  a  member  of  this  body,  as  well  as  in  the 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edivard  Kenna.          85 

House  of  Representatives ;  the  brilliant  Walker,  in  the  noon- 
time of  life — and  to-day  we  mourn  KENNA. 

Mr.  KENNA  took  his  seat  in  the  other  end  of  the  Capitol,  in 
the  special  session  of  the  Forty-fifth  Congress,  on  the  15th  day 
of  October,  1877. 

His  abilities  were  recognized  at  the  very  threshold  of  his 
Congressional  life.  He  was  at  once  assigned  to  the  Committee 
on  Commerce,  where  he  rendered  signal  service  to  the  people 
of  his  district  in  carrying  forward  the  improvement  of  the 
Great  Kanawha  and  its  tributary  streams,  in  which  his  con- 
stituents were  deeply  interested. 

•  Samuel  J.  Randall,  the  great  Democratic  leader,  while 
Speaker  of  the  Forty-sixth  Congress,  in  speaking  of  Mr. 
KENNA  in  a  letter  to  friend,  said : 

I  knew  the  moment  I  first  saw  him  that  Mr.  KENNA  was  a  strongman.  He 
impressed  me  by  his  honesty  of  purpose,  the  clearness  and  directness  of 
his  views,  his  knowledge  of  parliamentary  law,  and  his  courage  and  read- 
iness in  debate.  I  predict  for  him  a  brilliant  career. 

Such  was  the  estimate  placed  upon  Mr.  KENNA  by  the  man  who 
has  been  described  by  a  political  opponent  as  "the  strongest 
force  of  half  a  century."  And,  Mr.  President,  the  prediction  of 
the  then  Speaker  of  the  House  was  more  than  verified  by  the 
future. 

Mr,  KENNA'S  election  to  the  Senate  was  the  natural  and 
merited  reward,  earned  by  his  service  in  the  House.  He  was 
elected  for  the  term  commencing  on  the  4th  of  March,  1883, 
soon  after  reelection  to  his  fourth  term  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. 

He  was  elected  to  succeed  Hon.  Henry  G.  Davis,  who  de 
cliued  to  be  a  candidate  for  reelection.  I  had  the  pleasure,  as 
his  friend,  of  welcoming  him  to  his  seat  in  this  body  as  my  col- 
league, serving  with  him  four  years,  receiving  from  him  the 
same  courtesy  and  friendship  that  I  had  received  from  him 
throughout  life  to  its  close.  He  was  again  elected  his  own  sue- 


86      Address  of  Mr.  Camden,  of  West  Virginia,  on  the 

cessor  in  January,  1889,  for  the  term  which,  through  the  will 
of  an  all-wise  and  inscrutable  Providence,  he  left  vacant  before 
its  expiration. 

Dying  almost  under  the  shadow  of  this  Capitol,  he  was  laid 
to  rest  on  the  14th  day  of  January  last,  with  the  rites  of  that 
ancient  faith  whose  teachings  he  followed  through  life,  and 
with  the  best  honors  which  his  State  and  country  could  bestow. 
He  sleeps  in  the  earth  of  his  native  State,  on  the  sunny  slope 
of  one  of  her  hills  overlooking  the  valley  of  the  beautiful 
Kanawha. 

The  West  Virginia  legislature,  which  was  at  the  time  in  ses- 
sion, promptly  availed  itself  of  the  provisions  of  the  Federal 
statute  authorizing  each  State  to  contribute  to  the  Memorial 
Hall  of  the  National  Capitol  the  statues  of  two  of  her  departed 
citizens,  who  have  been  conspicuous  in  her  history,  by  passing 
a  bill  making  an  appropriation  for  that  purpose.  So  that  JOHN 
E.  KENNA.  the  first  to  receive  such  honor  from  his  State,  will 
live  in  marble  in  the  Nation's  Capitol  as  well  as  in  the  hearts 
of  the  people  of  his  State;  and  the  devoted  friend  whose 
earnest  energy  aided  in  bringing  about  so  promptly  this  well- 
merited  tribute  illustrates  life's  friendships,  that  do  not  end 
with  the  grave. 

Mr.  President,  almost  the  first  words  spoken  by  Mr.  KENNA 
in  the  House  of  Eepresentatives,  and  his  last  words  in  this 
body,  were  delivered  on  such  occasions  as  this.  Eloquent, 
tender,  and  touching  words  they  were.  The  first  was  a  tribute 
to  Ju'dge  Leonard,  a  Eepresentative  from  the  State  of  Louisiana, 
who,  like  himself,  was  richly  endowed  with  noble  qualities,  and 
who,  like  himself,  died  before  he  had  reached  the  noonday  of 
his  life.  His  last  public  utterance  in  this  body  was  an  announce- 
ment of  Senator  B ARBOUR'S  death. 

The  impressive  language  of  Senator  KENNA  in  honor  of  his 
friend.  Judge  Leonard,  spoken  in  the  House  fourteen  years 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          87 

ago,  and  referred  to  by  the  Senator  from  Maine,  is  to-day 
almost  as  applicable  to  his  own  memory  as  they  were  then  to 
Judge  Leonard;  and  I  can  not  close' my  tribute  to  the  memory 
of  our  departed  friend  more  appropriately  than  by  quoting  his 
own  words  on  that  occasion.  He  said: 

Mr.  Speaker,  in  the  cutting  off  of  cue  in  the  prime  and  vigor  of  early 
manhood,  with  a  life  only  half  spent,  the  glory  of  achievements  rising  in 
beauteous  visions  of  a  future  that  is  not  for  him,  there  is  something  which 
makes  an  impression  different  from  that  which  comes  from  the  departure 
of  one  in  the  fullness  of  his  years.  I  do  not  mean  that  the  power  of  choice 
would  enable  us  to  determine  that  age  and  experience  could  be  better  sur- 
rendered than  youth  and  promise. 

The  need  of  such  a  decision  has  been  wisely  spared  by  an  all-seeing, 
beneficent  Providence.  Nor  would  I  be  understood  to  intimate  a  want  of 
consideration  for  those  who  have  realized  the  full  measure  of  three  score 
and  ten.  There  is  an  attraction  about  the  silvery  frost  of  seventy  winters 
which  the  yellow  sands  of  thirty  summers  can  not  possess. 

There  is  something  akin  to  another  world  in  a  head  that  is  already 
shrouded  in  white,  and  hence  the  mystic  veneration  for  gray  hairs,  which 
has  become  prominent  among  the  acknowledged  virtues  of  mankind.  But 
when  death  invades  the  ranks  of  fresh  maturity  and  snatches  the  fruit 
that  is  ripening  there  it  seems  to  come  before  its  time,  and  to  gather  to-day 
the  harvests  of  to-morrow.  Such  a  visitation  seems  a  denial,  rather  than 
an  end  of  life. 

Mr.  President,  I  ask  for  the  adoption  of  the  resolutions. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER  (Mr.  CULLOM  in  the  chair).  The 
question  is  on  agreeing  to  the  resolutions.. 

The  resolutions  were  unanimously  agreed  to ;  and  the  Senate 
(at  6  o'clock  and  25  minutes  p.  m.)  adjourned  until  to-morrow, 
Tuesday,  February  28,  1893,  at  11  o'clock  a.  m. 


EULOGIES  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 


THURSDAY,  March  2,  1893. 

Mr.  ALDERSON.    I  offer  the  resolution  which  I  seiid  to  the 
Clerk's  desk. 
The  Clerk  read  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  the  House  of  Representatives  has  heard  with  profound  sor- 
row of  the  death  of  Hon.  JOHN  E.  KENXA,  late  a  Senator  from  the  State  of 
West  Virginia,  and  a  former  member  of  this  House. 

That  the  business  of  this  House  be  suspended,  that  appropriate  honors 
may  be  paid  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased. 

That  the  Clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives  be  directed  to  transmit 
to  the  family  of  the  deceased  a  copy  of  these  resolutions. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR,  ALDERSON,  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  Death  in  his  stern  impartiality  has  in  the  last 
few  months  reaped  a  rich  harvest  from  the  ranks  of  the  leaders 
and  statesmen  of  the  Eepublic,  and  there  is  mourning  in  the 
castles  as  in  the  hovels;  there  is  sorrow  among  the  rich  and 
powerful,  as  among  the  poor  and  lowly. 

In  the  list  of  prominent  men  of  the  nation  but  recently  claimed 
by  the  grifn  and  merciless  destroyer  is  numbered  West  Vir- 
ginia's most  illustrious  and  best  beloved  son. 

Those  of  us  who  knew  him  best  and  loved  him  most,  sorrow 
for  him  with  a  distress  too  deep  for  expression  by  human 
tongue,  and  we  will  keep  green  the  fond  memories  we  have  of 
him  and  of  his  kindly  acts  and  good  works. 

89 


90     Address  of  Mr.  Alderson,  of  West  Virginia,  on  the 

Coming  from  the  Congressional  district  which  he  in  former 
years  so  ably  represented,  from  the  section  of  the  State  in  which 
he  resided,  his  everyday  companion,  I  believe  I  knew  him  as  he 
was  known  by  but  few  men.  The  admiration  his  associates  had 
for  him  was  measured  by  their  closeness  to  him.  So  I  may  say 
in  all  truth,  my  heart  gave  that  loyal  and  true  devotion  to  him 
which  it  accorded  to  no  other  human  being  except  such  as  were 
bound  to  me  by  blood  and  most  sacred  ties. 

In  politics  he  was  .my  chief,  my  leader  all  my  life.  In  the 
social  relations  he  was  my  prince  among  men ;  the  one  man  whom 
I  idolized,  and  whom  I  believed  to  be  superior  to  all  others.  He 
honored  me  by  giving  to  me  his  friendship;  and  I  trust  that  I 
will  be  excused  if  on  this  occasion  my  wounded  feelings  do  through 
my  lips  speak  what  may  seem  to  be  extravagant  words  in  respect 
t6  my  dead  friend  to  whose  memory  we  to-day  pay  tribute.  It 
can  be  productive  of  no  good  to  dwell  at  length  upon  his  char- 
acter and  deeds,  and  I  shall  be  brief  in  what  I  may  have  to  say. 

Other  friends  have  already  referred  eloquently  to  his  trials, 
struggles,  successes,  and  triumphs  in  public  life;  and  I  will, 
in  my  humble  way,  speak  more  of  him  as  I  knew  him  and  loved 
him  in  private  life  and  in  his  individual  character. 

His  place  in  public  position  may  perchance  be  filled,  but  in 
our  hearts  his  loss  will  never  be  supplied. 

He  was  a  wonderful  man;  his  life  was  a  remarkable  life; 
and  his  death  was  the  fitting  conclusion  of  the  probation  on 
earth  of  a  being  well  favored  by  the  Creator;  the  return  of  a 
blessed  spirit  to  the  God  who  gave  it,  after  serving  out  on 
earth  the  short  period  allotted  to  human  life. 

Young  as  measured  by  his  years,  yet  old  in  experience  and 
public  service,  he  was  stricken  down  in  the  prime  of  his  man- 
hood and  usefulness  as  the  sturdy  oak  is  felled  by  the  power 
of  the  mighty  tempest.  Head  and  shoulders  above  his  fel- 
lows, his  very  prominence  seemingly  made  of  him  a  shin- 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edivard  Kenna.  91 

ing  mark,  and  by  the  inscrutable  will  of  the  everlasting  God, 
whose  wisdom  and  justice  was  never  questioned  by  him,  he 
was  called  away  from  a  life  so  full  of  promise  to  himself 
and  overflowing  with  fond  hopes  for  those  who  were  nearest 
and  dearest  to  him  and  loved  him  with  purest  devotion. 

The  people  of  the  State  to  whose  best  interests  he  was 
wedded  and  so  devoted  and  served  so  faithfully,  are  proud  of 
his  record  as  a  statesman  and  of  his  successes  as  lawyer  and 
advocate;  but  his  friends  dwell  longest  and  with  most  pleasure 
upon  the  recollections  which  they  have  of  him  in  his  private 
life,  and  as  an  associate  and  companion.  In  closer  sympathy 
and  touch  with  our  people;  understanding  them  better  and 
being  by  them  better  understood  and  more  trusted  than  any 
other  of  our  public  men,  his  death  has  brought  sorrow  to  the 
whole  State. 

Up  and  down  our  valleys,  watered  by  our  beautiful  rivers, 
from  mountain  top  to  mountain  top,  which  he  in  life  loved  so 
well,  the  sad  tidings  of  his  death  have  gone  forth,  and  our 
entire  people  are  in  mourning — mourning  for  our  brightest 
jewel — mourning  universally.  The  heart  of  the  honest  moun- 
taineer wells  up  in  his  bosom  and  tears  come  to  his  eyes 
unbidden  when  he  remembers  the  last  warm  grasp  of  the  hand 
of  the  man  who  was  the  idol  of  our  plain  people;  and  the 
rich  meet  their  neighbors  less  favored  with  earthly  possessions 
upon  common  ground  in  the  general  sorrow,  and  they  together 
blend  their  tears  over  the  grave  of  one  of  the  most  gifted 
men  our  State  has  ever  produced. 

I  have  seen  him  in  his  early  manhood,  standing  over  the 
grave  of  one  who  in  life  was  very  dear  to  him;  I  have  seen  him 
upon  the  hustings,  speaking  words  of  burning  eloquence  to  an 
admiring  populace;  I  have  seen  him  in  the  humble  home  of 
the  West  Virginia  mountaineer,  with  appreciative  heart  and 
unaffected  simplicity,  enjoying  the  welcome  hospitality  so  gen- 


92     Address  of  Mr.  Alderson,  of  West  Virginia,  on  the 

erously  extended;  I  have  seen  him,  dignified  and  with  easy 
grace,  in  the  habitations  of  the  rich,  in  the  midst  of  pomp  and 
luxury,  the  fruits  of  unstinted  wealth;  I  have  seen  him  by  the 
camp  fire,  surrounded  by  the  men  of  our  mountains,  his  com- 
panions in  the  chase;  I  have  seen  him  in  the  court  room,  plead- 
ing for  the  life  of  a  client;  I  have  seen  him  in  politics,  the 
intended  victim  of  treachery  and  misplaced  confidence;  I  have 
seen  him  in  the  flush  of  victory,  the  center  of  enthusiastic 
friends;  I  have  seen  him  among  his  colleagues  here,  brilliant 
and  interesting;  I  have  seen  him  in  conference  with  his  friends, 
when  his  and  their  interests  were  at  stake;  I  have  seen  him 
upon  the  floor  of  the  Senate  delivering  masterly  addresses ;  I 
have  seen  him  in  enforced  retirement,  battling  with  disease; 
I  have  seen  him  by  the  side  of  his  own  hearthstone,  surrounded 
by  his  family;  I  have  seen  him  on  his  deathbed,  his  life  ebb- 
ing out;  I  have  seen  him  amid  all  vicissitudes  which  can 
come  to  man,  and  I  have  always  seen  about  him  that  God-given 
and  strange  influence,  felt  and  not  capable  of  description — 
that  something  strong,  great,  kind,  and  gentle  which  made 
friends  of  enemies,  and  led  captive  the  hearts  of  his  fellows 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 

We  had  no  other  man  among  us  who  was  like  him,  and  there 
was  no  other  man  among  us  so  much  admired  and  respected. 

But  few  men  have  been  endowed  by  the  Creator  with  so 
lovable  a  disposition  and  character;  but  few  men  have  had 
combined  in  them  so  many  elements  which  draw  to  them  and 
bind  with  strongest  ties  of  devotion  their  fellows ;  but  few  men 
have  been  able  to  secure  and  hold  so  many  true  hearts  and  sin- 
cere friendships.  Truly  to  know  him  was  to  love  him. 

He  was  indeed  a  typical  West  Virginian.  His  character 
was  as  lofty  as  the  mountains  of  his  native  State ;  his  intellect 
was  as  bright  as  the  sunshine  which  illumines  our  mountain 
peaks ;  his  will  was  as  strong  as  the  torrents  which  rush  from 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.  93 

their  founts  among  our  hills  on  their  way  to  the  sea;  his  mind 
was  as  pure  as  the  limpid  waters  of  our  great  rivers;  his  heart 
was  as  gentle  as  the  soft  summer  breezes  which  stir  the  foli- 
age in  the  trees;  his  ideas  were  not  circumscribed  by  the 
boundaries  of  our  vast  domain,  but  even  reached  out  and  passed 
beyond  the  confines  of  the  Republic,  encompassing  in  their 
magnitude  every  land  where  man  has  taken  up  his  abode,  and 
centered  and  concentrated  in  the  great  and  noble  purpose  to 
do  good  to  all  those  created  in  the  image  of  the  Architect  of 
the  universe — his  fellow-beings. 

His  mission  in  life  was  to  do  good.  His  acts  of  kindness 
and  deeds  of  charity  if  known  would  fill  a  volume.  He  had 
the  happy  faculty  of  accommodating  himself  always  to  the  sur- 
roundings and  surrounding  circumstances.  Verily,  as  has 
been  said  of  him  most  truly,  "he  was  a  man  among  men,  and 
a  child  among  children." 

His  character  strengthened  the  regard  entertained  for  him 
and  disarmed  resentments.  A  distinguished  West  Virginian, 
in  speaking  of  him  quite  recently,  very  aptly  and  eloquently 
said: 

So  kindly  and  so  gracious  were  the  influences  of  his  nature  that  he  who 
passed  within  the  radius  of  his  influence  found  hostility  disarmed,  and 
quickly  became  his  friend. 

He  was  a  born  leader  of  men.  To  be  his  friend  once  was  to 
be  his  friend  always.  And  there  was  no  sinister  motive  behind 
the  love  his  friends  entertained  for  him.  The  friendships 
formed  for  him  were  pure  and  umnercenary.  He  was  a  poor 
man,  and  was  admired  for  himself,  for  his  noble  manhood  and 
stern  devotion  to  principle.  He  regarded  his  friends  for  what 
they  were  themselves,  and  not  for  their  position  or  worldly 
gear,  and  they  in  return  measured  him  by  the  same  rule  and 
found  him  not  wanting. 

Simple  in  his  habits  and  tastes,  his  life,  public  and  private, 
was  a  continued  protest  against  the  fast  growing  love  and  de 


94     Address  of  Mr.  Alderson,  of  West  Virginia,  on  the 

moralizing  greed  for  wealth,  and  his  lofty  ambition  and  proud 
record  were  untarnished  by  the  breath  of  suspicion. 

A  truer  and  more  earnest  and  sincere  man  never  lived.  He 
was  a  politician,  yet  a  statesman  of  the  highest  order,  and  his 
word  given  in  politics,  as  in  other  aifairs,  was  his  bond,  never 
to  be  violated  or  broken.  He  scorned  a  mean  act  and  detested 
hypocrisy,  insincerity,  and  duplicity. 

Kind-hearted,  generous  almost  to  a  fault,  charitable,  firm  and 
unyielding  in  the  right,  yet  always  open  to  conviction,  he  was 
the  same  man  at  all  times,  amid  all  surroundings,  and  under 
all  circumstances.  Whether  as  an  orphan  boy  and  a  day 
laborer,  toiling  to  support  his  widowed  mother  and  his  sisters; 
as  a  youthful  soldier  half  starved  and  poorly  clad,  fighting  for 
the  right,  as  he  saw  it;  as  a  young  lawyer  striving  for  success; 
as  a  Eepresentative  of  the  people,  hewing  out  his  way  to  promi- 
nence; as  a  Senator  of  the  United  States,  dealing  herculean 
blows  in  behalf  of  lighter  burdens  for  the  people,  and  free  and 
untrammeled  franchise,  he  has  been  found  always  true,  honest, 
sincere,  kind,  manly,  and  courageous. 

With  an  unsullied  reputation  he  defied  the  leprosy  of  cor- 
rupting influence.  In  a  position  which  brought  power  and 
begets  wealth  for  many  in  like  station,  he  died  as  he  had  lived, 
clean-handed,  without  spot  or  blemish.  In  every  station  in 
life 

He  walked  attended  by  a  strong-aiding  champion — conscience. 

In  the  man,  his  life,  and  untimely  death  we  have  before  us 
subjects  for  reflection — an  example  to  emulate,  a  sorrow  never 
to  be  forgotten,  and  a  hope  fondly  to  be  cherished. 

And  JOHN  EDWARD  KENNA  was  a  Christian ;  a  devout  and 
earnest  believer  in  the  gospel  of  salvation.  Without  ostenta- 
tion or  show,  with  the  courage  of  his  convictions  in  religion  as 
in  everything  else,  he  carried  into  his  everyday  life  that  enno- 
bling and  refining  influence  born  of  faith  in  the  immortality  of 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          95 

the  soul,  and  of  hope  and  trust  in  the  existence  beyond  the 
grave.  During  the  months  of  sickness  preceding  his  death  he 
manfully  fought  disease  with  that  courage  which  characterized 
his  every  act  in  life,  and  was  ever  patient  when  undergoing 
pain  and  suffering,  and  resigned  at  all  times  to  the  will  of  the 
Great  Master. 

When  the  end  came  he  was  not  unprepared.  He  met  the 
final  summons  unflinchingly,  and  without  fear  began  the  jour- 
ney to  "  that  bourne  from  whence  no  traveler  returns."  His 
departure  from  earth  was  peaceful,  and  when  his  soul  passed 
into  the  shadows  of  the  great  beyond,  the  dear  ones  about  him 
realized  that  he  was  not  dead,  but  had  entered  upon  the  new 
life  eternal  in  the  heavens. 

Then,  as  he  had  wished  it,  with  sad  hearts  and  loving  hands, 
we  carried  back  the  earthly  tenement  to  the  laud  of  his  birth, 
and  on  the  mountain  overlooking  the  great  river  he  had  labored 
so  arduously  and  successfully  to  improve,  and  the  home  in 
which  he  had  passed  so  many  happy  hours,  we  gave  back  to 
earth  the  receptacle  of  the  spirit  of  the  friend  we  had  loved 
so  well;  and  around  his  grave  new  resolves  were  made  to  be 
worthy  in  future  of  the  friendship  the  great  heart  now  motion- 
less had  accorded  in  the  past,  and  determinations  were  formed 
so  to  live  as  to  deserve  to  meet  him  and  to  dwell  with  him  in 
the  blessed  life  everlasting. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  BINGHAM,  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  JOHN  EDWARD  KENNA,  of  West  Virginia, 
entered  a  Representative  of  the  Forty-fifth  Congress  as  one  of 
the  youngest  members  in  years.  He  rapidly  rose  to  distin- 
guished standing  and  recognized  usefulness.  In  becoming  a 
member  of  the  Forty-sixth  Congress  I  found  him  regarded  as 


96     Address  of  Mr.  Bingham,  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the 

a  Representative  of  force,  character,  ability,  and  integrity,  as 
well  as  a  man  fearless,  aggressive,  and  able  in  debate. 

He  had  in  two  short  years  made  a  record  distinctive  and 
well  defined,  his  individuality  recognized,  his  personality  pro- 
nounced. A  useful  career  opened,  and  rich,  fruitful  results 
followed.  As  he  saw  his  duty  he  did  it,  and  he  did  it  well, 
fully,  and  conscientiously.  Our  friendship  then  formed  grew ; 
grew  firm,  strong,  and  closer  with  each  successive  year. 

In  his  early  death  our  common  country  lost  a  most  conspicu- 
ous figure  in  public  legislative  life.  I  lost  a  loved,  dear,  cher- 
ished, and  personal  friend. 

Senator  KENNA'S  young  life  was  lustrous  with  marked 
achievements,  and  his  career  masterful.  His  good  record  is 
perpetuated  in  the  annals  of  our  Government. 

He  was.  one  of  the  most  lovely  and  lovable  of  men  in  his 
social  life.  Truly  can  it  be  said  of  him,  f <  Whom  the  gods  love 
die  young."  He  had  a  grace,  gentleness,  devotion,  and  tender- 
ness that  drew  his  friends  to  him  with  hooks  of  steel.  He  was 
true,  sincere,  and  devoted.  He  loved  his  dog  and  gun,  and 
the  sports  and  pastimes  of  the  field  aud  stream  were  his  health, 
his  joy,  and  the  greatest  sources  of  renewed  strength  and  life. 

He  was  ever  a  companion,  but  always  a  man.  Every  trust 
and  confidence  reposed  in  him  was  sacred.  He  delighted  in 
debate — the  mental  conflict — "he  sniffed  the  battle  from  afar." 
He  was  ambitious,  heroic,  aggressive.  He  never  was  an  inert 
observer.  His  legal  equipment  was  complete — learned  in  the 
intricacies  of  the  law  and  parliamentary  procedure,  he  main- 
tained through  a  long  yet  for  his  years  a  brief  career  the  high 
standing  and  well-deserved  distinction  he  so  ably  won  in  his 
first  Congressional  term. 

His  arguments  were  always  scholarly,  clear,  concise,  con- 
vincing, and  conclusive,  full  of  information,  illustrated  by  his 
study,  his  teachings,  and  his  experiences.  His  rich  mental 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.          97 

gifts  were  nature's  profuse  and  generous  oiferiugs,  but  he 
builded  a  great  and  safe  superstructure  by  a  life  of  study  and 
tireless  toil. 

He  waited  while  he  labored.  He  had  keen  sympathies,  wide 
vision,  positive  energy.  Few  men  of  his  years  have  filled  so 
distinguished  a  place  in  either  the  House  or  the  Senate.  He 
was  a  true  friend. 

TJnequaled  as  a  representative  for  his  State,  a  Senator  strong 
and  wise  for  the  nation's  future,  one  whom,  had  the  allotted 
three  score  years  and  ten  been  given,  would  have  been  classed 
among  the  ablest  of  our  statesmen  and  leaders.  He  was  called 
before  the  measure  of  his  life  work  had  been  completed.  His 
coming  to  us  and  his  going  from  us  so  young  is  a  part  of  the 
great  mystery.  We  know  he  did  much,  and  what  he  did  was 
well  done.  That  is  all  we  know.  The  whence  and  the  whither 
is  not  for  us  to  solve.  Tears  to  his  memory.  His  work  will 
live.  The  people  of  his  own  State  will  do  him  honor  and  justice. 

He  is  gone.  Ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust.  Nothing  can  he 
leave  of  the  force  that  made  his  own  being  here.  God  accept 
him;  Christ  receive  him. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  HOOKER,  OF  MISSISSIPPI. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  When  I  was  approached  the  other  day  by  my 
friend  and  colleague  from  West  Virginia  [Mr.  ALDERSON]  with 
t"he  request  that  I  would  say  something  on  this  occasion,  when 
we  meet  to  pay  our  last  respects  to  our  dead  friend,  the  distin- 
guished Senator  from  West  Virginia,  I  said  to  him  that  I  would 
and  that  it  would  give  me  pleasure  to  add  a  few  words  to  those 
which  may  be  spoken  here  to-night  by  those  who  come  from 
his  own  immediate  vicinity  and  who  know  his  public  and 
private  life  probably  better  than  I  do. 
g.  Mis.  06 7 


98          Address  of  Mr.  Hooker,  of  Mississippi,  on  the 

I  was  a  member  of  the  Congress  to  which  Mr.  KENNA  was 
first  elected,  and  I  remember  well  the  impression  which  he 
made  upon  that  Congress  when  he  first  became  a  member  of 
this  House. 

He  had  a  very  marked  character,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
six  years  during  which  he  served  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives he  carved  out  for  himself  a  position  second  to  that  held 
by  no  man  in  either  of  the  Congresses  in  which  he  served. 

He  was  a  descendant  of  that  distinguished  race  of  people 
of  whom  it  has  been  said  they  have  successfully  fought  the 
battles  of  all  countries  save  their  own;  from  that  great  race  of 
people  who  have  furnished  to  the  British  Empire  her  greatest 
premiers  and  her  greatest  soldiers.  He  came  of  Irish  descent. 

His  father,  Edward  Kenua,  came  to  this  country  in  very 
early  life,  when  he  was  only  a  lad  of  a  boy,  and  did  his  first 
service  here  in  my  own  State  of  Mississippi,  where  he  lived  in 
the  household  and  worked  in  the  factory  of  the  La  Costas  on 
the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  River  at  Natchez.  He  was  there 
when  the  great  tornado  of  1840  swept  over  that  beautiful  city, 
and  was  fortunate  enough  to  be  one  of  the  survivors  of  that 
memorable  catastrophe. 

From  that  place  he  went  to  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  and  there 
falling  in  company  with  one  of  her  distinguished  and  liberal- 
minded  lawyers,  though  Mr.  Kenna  was  poor  and  had  no 
resources,  that  lawyer,  Mr.  Fox,  gave  him  the  use  of  his  library 
and  advised  him  to  pursue  the  practice  of  the  law. 

He  entered  upon  that  practice,  and  shortly  afterward,  in  the 
county  of  Kauawha,  in  the  State  of  Virginia,  married  Miss 
Lewis,  who  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  celebrated  Gen. 
Lewis,  of  western  Virginia,  so  well  known  to  the  history  of  that 
State. 

From  this  marriage  sprung  the  friend  to  whom  we  come  to 
pay  these  honors  to-night.  His  father  died  at  an  early  age, 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.  99 

leaving  the  mother  and  the  young  orphan  son,  the  eldest  of 
three  children,  and  two  daughters. 

Before  the  war  they  moved  to  the  State  of  Missouri,  where 
relatives  of  Mrs.  Kenna  lived,  and  our  friend  was  there  when 
the"  war  between  the  States  began.  He  volunteered  in  one  of 
the  cavalry  regiments  of  Missouri,  famous  under  the  leader- 
ship of  the  gallant  Sterling  Price  and  Gen.  Bowen,  whose 
remains  now  lie  buried  in  my  own  county  in  Mississippi,  and 
the  brave  and  distinguished  Cockrill,  all  leading  the  Missouri 
forces. 

This  boy,  only  sixteen  years  of  age,  volunteered  in  the  Con- 
federate cause. 

He  was  received  by  his  comrades  in  the  camp  with  the  tender 
care  which  his  age  naturally  suggested.  Severely  wounded  in 
one  of  the  conflicts  between  the  scouting  parties  of  the  oppos- 
ing forces,  his  friends  insisted  that  he  should  be  left  in  the  rear, 
but  he  said  no,  and  renewing  the  bandages  upon  his  wounds 
when  he  would  stop  at  night,  he  refused  to  be  considered  a  dis- 
abled soldier  and  remained  in  the  ranks. 

He  served  to  the  close  of  the  war,  and  was  paroled  at  Shreve- 
port,  La.  He  returned  thence  to  his  native  county,  Kanawha, 
to  which  his  mother  had  again  removed  from  Missouri,  and 
entered  upon  the  serious  duties  of  life  at  the  termination-  of  the 
great  conflict  between  the  States,  when  the  beard  of  manhood 
had  scarcely  yet  appeared  upon  his  cheeks. 

His  education,  of  course,  had  been  greatly  neglected,  and  he 
concluded  that  this  was  the  opportunity  for  him,  if  it  should 
ever  occuv;  so  he  went  to  Cincinnati:  but  feeling  that  the  slim 
resources  that  his  father's  fortune  had  left  the  mother,  brother, 
and  two  sisters  to  secure  that  education,  that  great,  big,  noble- 
hearted  Bishop  Whelan  offered  him  an  opportunity  to  enter  St. 
Vincent's  College,  in  Wheeling,  which  he  entered;  and  there 
for  two  and  a  half  years  he  received  the  only  education  he  may 


100       Address  of  Mr.  Hooker,  of  Mississippi,  on  the 

be  said  to  have  had.  Returning  to  his  native  county,  he 
entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  at  an  early 
age  was  elected  district  attorney  of  the  district  in  which  he 
lived. 

Here  he  cajne  into  contact  and  in  conflict  with  the  great  law- 
yers of  West  Virginia  who  were  leaders  at  the  bar,  and  achieved 
for  himself  great  and  noted  distinction  as  a  lawyer  before  he 
entered  this  House.  It  will  be  remembered  that  when  he  first 
put  his  foot  inside  these  halls  he  had  not  yet  reached  the  age 
of  thirty.  He  came  in  at  a  memorable  period  of  the  country's 
history.  He  came  in  when  distinguished  men  sat  upon  this 
floor,  with  age  and  long  experience  in  public  affairs,  and  he 
took  a  position  at  once  in  the  forefront  of  the  great  debaters 
of  the  House. 

I  remember  very  well  to  have  read  in  his  history  of  a  tribute 
paid  him  by  that  wonderful  man  who  was  about  going  out  of 
public  life  when  Mr.  KENNA  caine  into  this  Hall.  That  man — 
a  wonderful  genius,  a  great  power,  whose  voice  had  been  heard 
in  the  old  House  of  Eepresentatives — when,  in  the  prime  of 
his  manhood,  he  stood  up  and  in  thunder  tones  spoke  for  the 
right  and  for  the  great  principles  to  which  he  was  devoted; 
that  man  whom  all  the  old  members  of  this  House  remember, 
sat,  unable  to  stand,  in  a  rolling  chair,  which  was  his  constant 
seat,  immediately  in  front  of  the  Speaker;  who  never  lifted  his 
voice  in  this  Hall  that  there  was  not  a  hushed  silence  on  both 
sides  this  Chamber  and  in  the  galleries,  for  every  word  he  spoke 
was  a  word  of  wisdom,  purity,  and  uprightness. 

It  was  the  great  Georgian,  Alexander  Stephens.  And  when 
Mr.  KENNA,  a  young  member,  had  asked  him  to  do  him  the 
favor  to  write  his  name  in  his  album,  Mr.  Stephens  gave  in 
these  words  the  impression  which  the  young  Representative 
from  West  Virginia  had  made  upon  him. 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.         101 
He  addresses  him  as  follows: 

Hon.  JOHN  E.  KENNA,  of  West  Virginia: 

DEAR  SIR:  You  request  iny  autograph  iu  this  alburn.  This  request,  of 
course,  I  most  cheerfully  grant,  but  in  doing  it  you  must  allow  me  to  prefix 
the  autograph  with  a  few  words  expressive  of  the  gratification  afforded 
me  from  the  acquaintance  with  you  formed  in  this  House  soon  after  the 
organization  of  the  Forty-fifth  Congress. 

Your  debut  as  a  debater  on  the  5th  of  December  last,  in  which  you 
clearly  and  successfully  maintained  the  rights  of  your  committee  iu  the 
distribution  of  public  business,  will  never  be  forgotten  by  me. 

The  very  favorable  impression  made  by  that  debut  was  greatly  increased 
by  your  conduct  of  the  first  bill  under  your  charge  in  the  House. 

That  was  only  two  days  ago.  This  was  the  bill  in  relation  to  the  Wood- 
ruff scientific  expedition  around  the  world. 

It  was  your  first  bill.  It  was  a  measure  of  great  public  importance,  and 
the  manner  in  which  you  so  skillfully  and  successfully  conducted  it  to  its 
final  passage,  deservedly,  allow  me  to  say,  won  for  you  not  only  my  own, 
but  the  admiration  of  the  House.  Please  take  these  reminiscences  as  mat- 
ters not  inappropriate  in  complying  with  your  request.  Let  them  go  with 
the  autograph. 

Yours  truly. 

ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS, 
Member  of  Congress,  of  Georgia. 

Hor.sE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES, 

January  31,  1878. 

This  was  the  tribute,  Mr.  Speaker,  paid  by  an  extraordinary 
man,  himself  about  to  cease  to  mingle  with  public  affairs  and 
soon  to  pass  away.  It  was  a  wonderful  tribute,  paid  by  a 
great  departing  statesman  to  one  who  was  just  entering  the 
arena  of  conflict.  Alexander  Stephens  was  a  great  man  whose 
sun  was  about  to  sink  behind  the  western  horizon,  while 
KENNA'S  was  just  appearing  above  the  east,  and  the  great 
statesman,  departing,  recognized  in  the  young  man  who  had 
come  into  this  House  where  he  had  been  an  aged  and  experi- 
enced member  that  promise  which  was  eventually  so  completely 
and  perfectly  realized  by  him. 

Mr.  KENNA  was  reflected  to  the  next  Congress,  though  at 
that  time  in  feeble  health  and  unable  to  engage  in  the  canvass, 
by  great  unanimity  of  the  convention  of  his  own  party,  and  by 


102       Address  of  Mr.  Hooker,  of  Mississippi,  on  the 

an  additional  increased  majority  at  the  polls  in  November. 
While  he  was  in  this  second  Congress,  a  measure  of  great 
importance  to  the  country  at  large,  in  which  all  the  States  of 
the  Onion  were  taking  a  great  interest,  came  up  to  be  con- 
sidered. It  was  with  reference  to  one  of  the  great  parallel 
lines  of  railroads  running  across  the  continent  from  east  to 
west. 

The  legislature  of  West  Virginia  had  instructed  her  dele- 
gates in  Congress  to  support  the  Texas  Pacific  Eailroad,  a  bill 
then  pending  in  thi  s  House.  Mr.  KENN A,  after  a  very  thorough 
investigation  of  this  bill,  determined  he  could  not  conscien- 
tiously give  it  his  support,  and  wrote  to  one  of  the  senators  of 
the  body  which  had  adopted  the  resolution  of  instructions,  and 
concluded  his  letter  in  the  following  words,  that  may  be  of 
much  significance  to  many  of  you  in  this  connection,  in  regard 
to  a  great  measure  of  public  duty  which  the  people  have  passed 
upon  so  recently. 

He  said  to  his  friend  in  the  senate: 

To  support  this  measure  on  my  part  would  be  to  violate  the  solemn 
pledges  which  I  have  made  an  hundred  times  over  to  the  people  of  my  dis- 
trict. I  have  not  denounced  subsidies  to  come  here  and  support  them. 

I  have  not  raised  my  voice  in  opposition  to  class  legislation  against  the 
interests  and  rights  of  the  masses  to  come  here  and  lend  my  voice  to  the 
consummation  of  that  very  work. 

I  have  not  joined  in  the  indignation  of  my  people  at  the  stupendous  power 
and  corruption  of  the  American  lobby  to  come  here  and  surrender  myself 
helplessly  into  its  hands. 

For  my  own  part,  I  shall  carry  out  faithfully  every  pledge  I  have  made 
to  our  people. 

I  shall  protect  and  defend  their  rights  and  interests  in  every  manner, 
and  with  every  faculty,  however  humble,  with  which  it  has  pleased  God 
to  endow  me. 

With  that  view  and  in  discharge  of  that  obligation  I  can  not  and  will 
not  support  this  bill  nor  any  other  measure  involving  its  principles,  its 
policy,  or  its  practice. 

It  was  a  bold  stand  for  a  young  man  who  was  serving  his 
second  term  in  Congress  to  take  against  the  unanimous  action 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.         103 

of  the  legislature  of  his  own  State,  but  he  was  rewarded  for 
that  fidelity  to  duty  and  that  allegiance  to  principle  which 
distinguished  him  then  and  ever  alterwards  as  long  as  he  lived 
on  earth.  The  legislature  reversed  its  action  and  vindicated 
its  determined  Representative,  who  had  had  the  courage  of  his 
convictions  to  oppose  a  measure  which  had  the  popular  sanc- 
tion. 

Mr.  KENNA'S  service  in  this  Hall  was  of  sucn  a  character 
that  after  three  terms  his  people,  though  he  was  still  a  very 
young  man,  thought  he  ought  to  be  transferred  to  the  other 
branch  of  the  National  Legislature.  But,  Mr.  Speaker,  I  may 
be  permitted  to  aflude  to  one  other  event  in  his  history  as  a 
Representative  before  I  proceed  to  consider  his  career  as  a 
Seiwitor.  It  was  a  very  memorable  one,  and  the  gentleman 
who  has  been  acting  as  temporary  Speaker  during  the  early 
part  of  this  evening,  as  well  as  many  others  whom  I  see  before 
me,  will  remember  the  occurrence. 

It  was  in  the  Forty-seventh  Congress  when  he  had  that 
wonderful  conflict  with  the  then  Speaker  of  the  House.  Mr. 
KENNA  was  nominated  as  a  Representative  in  the  Forty- 
seventh  Congress  by  acclamation,  and  it  was  in  that  Congress 
that  the  memorable  passage  at  arms  occurred  between  him 
and  Mr.  Keifer,  the  then  Speaker  of  the  House. 

The  Speaker  had  reprimanded  Mr.  Money,  a  Representative 
from  the  State  of  Mississippi. 

"Can  it  be,"  exclaimed  Mr.  KENNA,  "that  the  Speaker 
essayed  to  reprimand  a  representative  of  the  people  in  the 
absence  of  action  by  the  House  ?" 

The  affirmative  of  this  was  vehemently  insisted  upon,  accom- 
panied with  applause  by  those  who  shared  the  Speaker's  con- 
victions on  this  subject.  Mr.  KENNA  thereupon  offered  a  reso- 
lution reciting  what  had  occurred  and  providing  for  prompt  and 
heroic  treatment  of  the  subject.  His  resolution  was  received 


104       Address  of  Mr.  Hooker,  of  Mississippi,  on  the 

with  profound  silence,  which  became,  if  possible,  more  intense 
as  the  statement  preceding  it,  which  supported  it,  was  read. 
But  the  Speaker  receded  from  his  asserted  authority,  and  the 
resolution  was  withdrawn  amidst  the  applause  of  the  House 
whose  dignity  and  character  it  had  maintained. 

Such,  Mr.  Speaker,  was  the  character  of  the  services  of  Mr. 
KENNA  in  this  House.  He  was  soon  transferred  to  the  other 
branch  of  the  National  Legislature,  and  there,  though  he  came 
into  the  Senate  when  such  men  as  Thurrnan  and  Beck  sat  upon 
the  Democratic  side,  and  Sherman  and  Logan  and  other  great 
debaters  on  the  other,  he  sprang  into  the  first  rank  in  that 
grave  body  of  debaters  and  statesmen  and"  thinkers. 

On  more  than  one  occasion  he  measured  lances  with  the 
ablest  men  of  the  Senate,  and  particularly  oil  the  occasion 
when  the  course  of  the  then  President  of  the  United  States, 
Grover  Cleveland,  was  challenged  by  the  action  of  the  Senate 
in  refusing  to  send  to  the  Senate  the  papers  upon  which  his 
appointments  rested.  On  that  occasion  the  appointments  to 
office  of  Mr.  Cleveland,  more  than  a  thousand  in  number,  were 
suspended  for  a  long  while  under  the  adverse  action  of  the 
Senate,  insisting  that  they  were  entitled  to  have  those  papers 
before  the  action  of  confirmation  was  taken. 

It  was  on  that  occasion  that  the  young  Senator  from  West 
Virginia  made  the  memorable  speech  of  his  life,  which  placed 
him  side  by  side  with  the  great  debaters  of  the  Senate.  The 
manner  in  which  he  spoke,  the  character  of  the  audience  he 
addressed,- and  the  effect  which  he  produced  are  so  much  better 
narrated  by  his  biographer  than  I  could  speak  it  that  I  may  be 
pardoned  by  the  House  if  I  read  a  paragraph  giving  a  descrip- 
tion of  that  speech  and  its  effect : 

Mr.  KENNA'S  speech  on  this  occasioii  was  exhaustive,  and  the  audience 
which  confronted  him,  embracing  substantially  both  Houses  of  Congress, 
as  well  as  the  visitors  who  crowded  the  galleries,  was  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished that  ever  assembled  in  the  great  Chamber.  The  history  of  the 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.        105 

subject  was  reviewed  from  Washington,  through  successive  administra- 
tions, to  Cleveland.  The  review  was  elaborate,  coherent,  caustic.  The 
iitterances  of  Washington,  Madison,  Jackson, Webster,  and  of  John  Sher- 
man, while  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  were  invoked  with  commanding 
power,  and  the  incidents  of  Johnson's  administration,  with  the  contem- 
poraneous records  of  Elaine,  Sherman,  Edmunds,  Logan,  and  others,  were 
exhibited  with  an  effect  which  aroused  and  swayed  the  vast  audience. 

The  constitutional  feature  was  argued  and  presented  with  precision, 
clearness,  and  simplicity,  and,  withal,  the  speech  was  strongest  for  its 
dignity  and  fairness.  It  is  the  ablest  of  the  prodiictions  of  its  author, 
and  upon  it  his  friends  would  be  quite  willing  that  his  standard  should 
be  measured.  For  three  hours  and  twenty  minutes  Mr.  KENNA  held  the 
undivided  attention  of  the  remarkable  gathering  which  surrounded  him, 
and  concluded  amidst  the  most  cordial  demonstrations  of  applause. 
Thenceforward,  to  the  close  of  the  Cleveland  administration,  he  was 
recognized  among  its  strongest  bulwarks  and  best  defenders. 

Mr.  KENNA  was  a  man  of  sturdy  physical  constitution  and 
of  sturdy  brain  power.  He  reaped  the  reward  of  obedience  to 
that  decree  of  the  Master  from  which  none  of  us  can  escape, 
which  is  written  in  the  eternal  law,  that  by  the  sweat  of  our 
faces  we  shall  earn  our  bread — a  law  that  applies  not  alone 
to  the  muscle  and  the  thew  and  the  sinew  and  the  bone  and 
the  blood  of  the  laboring  man,  but  applies  with  equal  power  to 
the  brain  of  the  man  of  thought  and  study  and  reflection. 
Obedience  to  this  law  from  early  youth  made  him  what  he  was. 

Residence  in  the  country  where  he  lived  naturally  made  him 
so,  for  he  had  lived  in  that  country  which  is  probably  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  regions  of  our  great  and  beautiful  land.  He 
lived  on  the  banks  of  the  Kanawha,  rushing  through  the  Alle- 
ghany  Mountains,  and  watched  its  turbid  force  sweeping  the 
bowlders  from  the  center  of  the  stream  and  lashing  the  rock- 
ribbed  shores  on  either  side,  sweeping  down  to  the  ocean.  It 
was  possibly  from  such  acclivity  as  the  Hawks  Nest,  and 
looking  at  this  wonderful  waste  of  power  the  young  statesman 
said,  "  Can  we  not  utilize  these  great  forces  of  nature? "  And 
when  he  came  into  the  Halls  of  Congress  he  proposed  those 
bills  which  finally  were  formulated  and  enacted  and  recorded 


106       Address  of  Mr.  Hooker,  of  Mississippi,  on  the 

upon  the  statute  books,  which  gave  to  West  Virginia,  through 
the  Kanawha  Eiver,  slack-water  navigation,  and  found  a 
market  for  the  great  black  diamonds  with  which  her  mouu 
tains  are  filled  and  the  great  ores  that  are  imbedded  in  them. 

It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  he  should  become  a  man  of 
great  physical  power  and  great  mental  power.  He  delighted 
in  the  chase.  He  delighted  in  outdoor  exercise.  As  he  walked 
over  those  magnificent  meadows  of  Virginia,  over  which  the 
green  carpet  fashioned  by  the  hand  of  the  Master  was  spread, 
and  looked  up  into  those  lofty  mountains,  sometimes  glassed 
in  sunshine,  and  sometimes  covered  with  shadow,  and  some* 
times  the  home  of  the  storm-god,  it  was  not  unnatural  that 
the  warp  and  woof  of  his  mind  should  partake  of  the  character 
and  nature  of  the  great  country  in  which  he  was  born  and 
reared. 

I  have  now  the  pleasing  memory,  Mr.  Speaker,  of  an  inci- 
dent which  occurred  only  last  summer,  when  he  was  already 
stricken  with  the  fatal  malady  which  carried  him  to  his  grave. 
He  came  from  the  Senate  Chamber  and  taking  his  seat  by  me 
and  giving  me  that  cordial  shake  of  the  hand  which  always 
made  one  feel  so  happy,  and  smiling  with  that  smile  which 
had  the  softness  of  a  boy,  when  last  1  saw  him,  Ire  said  to  me, 
"  I  have  come  to  ask  you  to  do  me  a  favor."  I  said,  "  What 
is  it,  Mr.  KENNA!"  He  said,  "I  want  you  to  go  on  the  cars 
with  me  to-night  to  Charleston,  the  capital  of  my  State,  and 
make  an  address  to  the  old  Confederate  veterans  to-morrow." 
I  said  to  him,  "This  is  short  notice,  my  friend."  He  said, 
"Yes;  but  I  am  in  trouble  about  it.  I  am  too  ill  to  speak 
myself,  and  the  friends  whom  I  had  expected  to  go  are  also  ill. 
I  request  as  a  personal  favor  to  me  that  you  will  go  with  me 
and  deliver  the  address."  I  consented  to  do  it.  And  I  was 
repaid  by  the  fact  that  he  went  with  me  and  that  when  we 
reached  Charleston  and  crossed  the  bridge  to  the  eastern  side 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edivard  Kenna.         107 

of  the  city,  and  the  veterans  who  had  served  with  him  when 
he  was  but  a  boy  extended  their  hands  to  him  (and  he  knew 
the  names  of  all  of  them),  and  when  I  saw  the  eyes  of  the  old 
soldiers  light  up  with  delight  and  their  faces  glow  with  pleasure 
as  they  saw  their  boy-comrade  coming  to  fulfill  the  promise 
which  he  had  made  that  he  would  be  with  them,  I  was  repaid 
for  all  the  trouble  of  that  journey. 

If  that  had  not  been  sufficient,  when  I  saw  the  greeting  that 
he  received  from  the  audience  assembled  in  the  theater,  as  he 
spoke  but  a  few  words,  being  unable  to  speak  more,  I  was 
amiiu  repaid.  And  I  was  more  than  repaid  for  the  labor  and 
trouble  of  travel  by  seeing  that  greeting  which  came  from  his 
venerable  mother.  And  he  said  to  me  when  he  introduced 
her  to  me,  "  I  introduce  her  not  only  as  my  mother,  for  we  are 
attached  not  alone  by  the  ties  of  loving  mother  and  dutiful 
son,  but  we  have  been  life-long  companions*  counseling  and 
advising  with  one  another,  and  it  is  as  such  that.I  now  make 
my  mother  known  to  you." 

Such  was  the  character  of  the  man  that  everybody  loved  him 
and  no  good  man  could  be  his  enemy.  He  lived  amid  these 
scenes  surrounded  by  his  people,  and  passed  away  at  last,  scarce 
arriving  at  middle  age,  after  having  attained  all  of  the  honor- 
able positions  which  ambition  generally  proposes  at  a  later  date. 
Ambition  with  him  had  been  noble,  manly,  and  honorable. 

Ambition  with  him  was  not  such  a  passion  as  that  which  sways 
the  human  heart  almost  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  when  all 
other  passions  and  emotions  are  burned  to  ashes  and  cinders 
on  its  altar;  but  his  was  a  noble,  a  beautiful,  a  Christian  ambi- 
tion, which  was  supplemented  by  that  endeavor  which  forces 
us  to  be  honest  and  upright ;  and  these  influences  upheld  him 
on  all  occasions. 

No  man  within  the  limits  of  my  knowledge,  in  the  House  of 
Eepresentatives,  or  in  the  Hall  at  the  other  end  of  the  Capitol, 


108          Address  of  Mr.  Wilson,  of  Missouri,  on  the 

the  Senate,  has  won  for  himself  a  distinction  greater,  more 
deserving,  or  more  honorable  than  he  whom  I  am  delighted  to 
call  my  friend,  the  Hon.  JOHN  EDWARD  KENNA,  of  West 
Virginia. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  WILSON,  OF  MISSOURI. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  I  have  no  extended  eulogiuni  to  deliver  over 
the  dead  Senator  from  West  Virginia.  This  has  been  most 
feelingly  and  eloquently  done  by  those  who  have  preceded 
me;  by  Bepresentatives  from  his  own  State  who  had  long 
known  him  and  loved  him  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  I  come 
before  you  on  this  occasion  not  only  to  express  my  own  sincere 
sorrow  at  the  untimely  death  of  this  brilliant  statesman,  but 
to  voice  the  feelings  of  the  people  of  my  own  State,  of  which 
Senator  KENNA  was  at  one  time  a  citizen. 

He  has  but  met  the  common  fate  of  man ;  he  has  paid  nature 
the  last  debt,  and  now,  after  life's  fitful  fever  is  over,  sleeps  in 
the  bosom  of  his  native  State  which  he  loved  and  served  so  well 
in  this  Hall,  as  well  as  in  that  at  the  other  end  of  the  Capitol. 
In  all  the  weird  procession  of  Senators  and  Eepresentatives  that 
has  passed  through  these  historic  halls  to  the  land  of  shadows, 
there  was  no  kindlier,  gentler,  braver,  brighter,  or  truer  spirit 
than  that  of  JOHN  E.  KENNA.  He  was  at  once  the  pride  of  his 
State,  and  the  best  beloved  of  its  people. 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  was  absent  from  the  Capitol  when  told  by  the 
lightning  that  Senator  KENNA  had  fallen  at  his  post  of  duty; 
that  after  heroically  battling  in  the  unequal  struggle  for  life 
with  the  arch  enemy  of  the  race  with  the  same  sublime  courage 
that  characterized  all  his  efforts,  from  the  plow  handle  of  the 
farmer  boy  on  the  primeval  prairies  of  Missouri  to  a  proud  seat 
in  the  United  States  Senate,  he  had  at  last  been  vanquished, 


Life  and  Character  oj  John  Edward  Kenna.         109 

but,  like  the  splendid  kiiight  that  he  was,  had  fallen  at  his  post 
of  duty  and  with  his  armor  on. 

At  the  earliest  practicable  hour  after  taking  my  seat  in  the 
Fifty-first  Congress  I  sought  out  Senator  KENNA  and  made  his 
personal  acquaintance.  I  did  so  because  he  was  regarded  with 
affection  by  the  people  of  my  own  State,  among  whom  he  had 
lived  some  of  the  most  delightful  years  of  his  life.  I  had  so 
often  heard  from  the  lips  of  his  comrades,  and  especially  from 
those  of  his  old  commander,  the  story  of  his  daring  life,  when 
as  a  boy-soldier  he  flashed  his  saber  always  to  the  front  on 
the  battle  day,  in  the  invincible  brigade  led  by  the  Murat  of 
the  Confederate  army  in  the  transmississippi  department — the 
impetuous  Shelby. 

I  had  heard  from  those  who  had  shared  his  blanket  in  the 
cheerless  bivouac  and  who  had  swept  to  the  charge  with  him, 
when  death  was  so  close  he  could  "  hear  the  very  beat  of  its 
wing,"  of  his  gentleness  in  camp,  and  of  his  heroism  upon  the 
field,  that  I  wanted  to  take  him  by  the  hand  and  to  tell  him 
how  the  "old  boys"  still  remembered  and  loved  him.  I  did 
so;  it  gave  him  undisguised  satisfaction,  and  from  that  day 
until  the  day  of  his  death  I  entertained  for  JOHN  E.  KENNA 
the  most  affectionate  regard. 

When  the  old  monarch  of  the  forest,  after  having  for  more 
than  a  century  braved  the  storms  until  scarred  by  the  envious 
lightning  and  riven  by  the  fierce  winds,  hastens  to  decay,  and 
when  no  longer  able  to  hold  up  its  withered  arms  falls  heavily 
to  the  earth,  it  stirs  the  heart  to  melancholy  sadness ;  but  when 
the  giant  oak,  towering  aloft  in  the  glory  of  perfect  strength 
and  rejoicing  in  its  vigorous  growth,  is  rudely  stricken  by  the 
fury  of  the  elements  and  lies  prone  upon  the  protesting  earth, 
it  arouses  the  deepest  sorrow  at  the  untimely  fall. 

And  so  it  is  with  this  splendid  man.  His  death  was 
untimely,  both  for  his  country  and  for  those  who  loved  him. 


110          Address  of  Mr.  Wilson,  of  Missouri,  on  the 

He  had  scarce  lived  out  half  the  measure  of  his  days  as  allotted 
by  the  Psalmist.  He  was  in  the  very  meridian  of  life,  in  the 
full  flush  of  glorious  manhood,  when  stricken  down.  But  not- 
withstanding his  early  death,  Senator  KENN  A  had  accomplished 
a  long  lifetime  of  deeds — good  deeds — sufficient  to  make  his 
life  illustrious. 

He  went  out,  as  you  and  I  will  go,  Mr.  Speaker,  when  the  sum- 
mons comes,  alone  into  the  darkness,  and  silently  embarked 
upon  the  shoreless  sea. 

Did  he  go  to  the  deathless  solitude  of  forgetfulness  in  the 
bosom  of  the  earth  as  does  the  giant  young  oak  when  prema- 
turely and  rudely  broken,  or  is  he  not  at  this  very  moment 
beyond  the  stars,  realizing  the  promises  of  the  lowly  Nazareue 
given  to  those  who  should  follow  in  His  ways'? 

There  are  moments  in  the  lives  of  the  wisest  and  best  when, 
scourged  with  doubt  as  to  whether  "it  is  all  of  life  to  live  and 
all  of  death  to  die,"  we  tremble  as  we  contemplate  our  inevi- 
table departure  to  that  undiscovered  country  from  which  not 
one  single,  solitary  explorer  has  ever  returned  to  tell  to  the 
living  the  tale  of  his  travels. 

This  awful  thought  has  agitated  the  breasts  of  men  through 
all  the  ages,  and  nowhere  have  I  found  the  aspirations  of  the 
human  heart  better  expressed  in  its  solacing  reflections  than 
by  Cato.  When  soliloquizing  he  says : 

Plato,  thou  reasonest  well ! 

Else  whence  this  pleasing  hope,  this  fond  desire, 
This  longing  after  immortality  ? 
Or  whence  this  secret  dread  and  inward  horror 
Of  falling  into  naught?     Why  shrinks  the  soul 
Back  on  itself,  and  startles  at  destruction? 
'Tis  the  divinity  that  stirs  within  us. 

In  Statuary  Hall,  under  the  Dome  of  this  Capitol,  can  be 
found  the  marble  effigies  of  many  of  the  great  men  who  shed 
undying  luster  upon  the  history  of  our  country — statesmen 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.        Ill 

and  soldiers — and  it  does  honor  to  the  Commonwealth  lie 
served  and  gives  consolation  to  those  who  loved  him  to  know 
that  the  departed  statesman  whose  memory  I  now  recall  and 
whose  bright  virtues  I  now  recount  will  soon  be  perpetuated 
in  enduring  marble  and  occupy  a  place  in  this  American 
Pantheon,  where,  though  mute,  it  shall  survive  as  long  as  this 
temple  shall  stand  to  eloquently  proclaim  to  the  youth  of 
America  the  wonderful  possibilities  guaranteed  to  them  by 
the  spirit  of  our  institutions,  be  they  rich  or  poor,  high  or 
lowly  born. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  PENDLETON,  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  It  strikes  me  that  it  would  cost  one  little 
trouble  to  speak  words  of  fitting  eulogy  on  the  life  and  charac- 
ter of  the  late  JOHN  E.  KENNA.  Everyone  who  knew  him  knew 
that  his  character  was  beyond  reproach,  and  that  he  stood  as 
more  than  a  peer  among  the  greatest  men  of  his  own  State. 

I  did  not  know  him  so  well  or  intimately  as  my  colleague 
from  the  Third  district  of  the  State  of  West  Virginia,  but  I 
shall  never  forget  the  occasion  upon  which  I  first  met  him. 

More  than  seventeen  years  ago  I  had  an  engagement  with 
a  young  friend  of  mine  to  call  upon  a  young  lady  in  the  city  of 
Wheeling.  I  went  to  the  hotel  where  we  were  to  meet  in 
order  to  make  that  call.  I  found  there  with  my  young  friend 
a  tall,  stately,  and  distinguished  looking  young  man,  who  was 
then  introduced  to  me  as  JOHN  E.  KENNA,  of  the  county  of 
Kanawha,  in  the  State  of  West  Virginia.  I  am  glad  that  we 
made  that  call  together. 

Mr.  KENNA  proposed  that  he  should  accompany  us,  which 
he  did,  and,  as  the  result"  of  that  call,  in  a  little  more  than  one 


112    Address  of  Mr.  Pendleton,  of  West  Virginia^  on  the 

year  thereafter  that  young  lady  became  the  wife  of  the  dis- 
tinguished gentleman,  afterwards  Senator  from  the  State  of 
West  Virginia. 

From  that  time  I  became  interested  in  that  young  man.  1 
studied  his  career  as  that  of  a  man  likely  to  win  for  himself  a 
reputation  among  the  statesmen  of  our  country.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-seven  years  he  was  elected  to  represent  the  Third 
Congressional  district  of  the  State  of  West  Virginia  in  the 
House  of  Eepresentatives  of  the  United  States,  and  after  serv- 
ing his  State  for  a  period  of  six  years  in  the  House  of  Eepre- 
sentatives, so  distinguished  was  his  conduct,  so  proud  had  our 
people  become  of  the  reputation  he  had  won  for  himself  here, 
that  when  he  had  been  elected  by  nearly  7,000  majority  to 
serve  his  constituents  for  a  fourth  term  upon  the  floor  of  the 
House  of  Eepresentatives  he  was  by  almost  the  unanimous 
vote  of  his  own  party  promoted  to  the  Senate  of  United  States, 
where,  after  a  service  of  distinguished  honor,  of  grand  and 
magnificent  attainments,  he  was  finally  called  to  that  bourne 
whence  no  traveler  returns. 

Sixteen  years  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  he  had 
hardly  reached  the  age  of  forty- four  years.  At  that  period  of 
life  if  Julius  Caesar  had  departed  to  the  unknown  world,  he 
would  not  have  filled  a  page  of  history.  If  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte had  gone  to  the  unknown  land  he  would  not  have  fought 
the  battle  of  Waterloo,  have  lost  the  throne  of  the  great  empire 
of  modern  times,  or  spent  days  of  exile  on  the  island  of  St. 
Helena. 

It  had  been  my  intention,  sir,  upon  an  occasion  of  this  charac- 
ter, to  indulge  in  remarks  of  greater  length  than  I  shall  offer  to 
the  House  to-night.  But  I  know  the  pressing  condition  of  the 
public  business  that  is  called  to  the  attention  of  this  body.  I 
know  also  that  there  are  other  distinguished  gentlemen,  as  dis- 
tinguished and  eloquent  as  those  who  have  preceded  me,  who 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.         113 

desire  to  pay  their  tribute  to  West  Virginia's  most  distinguished 
son.  And  I  feel  that  if  I  should  detain  you  long  to  listen  to 
any  words  that  I  may  utter  in  commemoration  of  JOHN  E. 
KENNA,  I  should  do  violence  to  your  patience  and  trespass 
upon  your  time. 

In  the  brief  time  allotted  to  us  I  feel  that  you  would  rather 
listen  to  others  who  can  better  eulogize  or  more  fascinatingly 
attract.  His  spirit  is  here  to  night,  where  he  formerly  was 
foremost  in  debate  and  easily  first  in  parliamentary  struggle; 
and  his  name  will  long  be  remembered  here  as  an  inspiration 
to  us  to  do  much  and  dare  all  in  every  just  and  noble  cause. 
His  early-won  fame  will  excite  the  emulation  of  the  young  and 
will  teach  them  that  youth  is  no  bar  to  progress  or  to  lofty 
achievement.  The  respect  we  all  feel  for  him  tells  the  way  to 
win  it  for  ourselves,  while  his  early  struggles  and  final  success 
indicates  to  all  what  may  be  done  by  pluck,  energy,  and  talent. 

All  can  not  reach  KENNA'S  reputation ;  all  may  not  attract 
the  affection  lavished  upon  him,  but  we  can  live  in  the  light 
of  his  great  example  and  follow  as  best  we  may  where  he  has 
led.  In  striving  to  be  like  him,  we  shall  best  honor  his  memory 
and  do  no  little  for  ourselves. 

This  feeble  tribute  does  him  but  little  justice,  and  will  give 
to  the  future  but  an  ill  drawn  picture  of  West  Virginia's 
favorite  son. 

But  I  feel  that  however  great  West  Virginia's  sons  may  be  in 
the  future,  however  grand  may  be  the  reputation  that  they  may 
win  for  themselves,  whatever  proclamation  may  be  made  for 
them  by  the  wide  trumpet  of  renown,  it  will  be  many  long  years 
before  either  the  House  of  Representatives  or  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  will  look  again  upon  the  like  of  JOHN  E.  KENNA. 
And  I  am  sure  that  while  our  mountains  rear  their  lofty  crests 
toward  the  heavens,  while  our  valleys  continue  green,  and 
while  West  Virginians  remember  the  history  and  achieve- 

S.  Miss.  66 8 


114         Address  of  Mr.  Covert,  of  New  York,  on  the 

inents  of  their  distinguished  sons,  grand  among  the  great,  glo- 
rious among  the  good,  and  forever  remembered  will  be  the 
cherished  name  of  JOHN  EDWARD  KENNA,  of  West  Virginia. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  COVERT,-  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  My  friend  from  West  Virginia  [Mr.  ALDER- 
SON],  who  so  loyally  and  gracefully  and  eloquently  opened  these 
proceedings,  needed  not  to  apologize  for  any  supposed  extrav- 
agance of  utterance.  Too  much  can  not  be  said  in  the  direc- 
tion of  praise  and  eulogy  of  JOHN  E.  KENNA.  There  are 
occasions  when  the  lips  are  dumb  and  when  the  heart  speaks 
only.  A  cordon  of  devoted  friends  in  this  Chamber  have 
spoken  and  are  yet  to  speak  in  what  phrase  they  may  of  him 
who,  living,  was  loved  as  man  is  rarely  loved  by  men.  But  a 
language  deeper  and  much  more  eloquent  has  been  and  will 
be  left  unspoken.  These  un uttered  words,  this  mute  language, 
the  hearts  of  us  all  keep  closely  guarded  within,  as  much  too 
sacred  for  utterance.  H 

Perhaps  all  sadness  is  in  a  sense  selfish,  and  the  deepest  sor- 
row the  greatest  selfishness.  When  one  who  has  been  eminent 
in  his  country's  service  is  taken  from  us  in  the  midst  of  his 
usefulness,  the  larger  loss  to  the  land  is  not  the  first  reflection 
that  comes  to  those  who  were  closely  associated  with  him  who 
has  gone.  The  knowledge  that  we  shall  miss  the  warm  hand 
clasp — that  we  shall  hear  no  more  the  kindly  voice  and  that  we 
shall  on  earth  never  again  stand  in  the  presence  of  our  com- 
panion and  friend;  these  are  the  thoughts  that  first  come  to 
us — this  personal  reflection  is  our  first  and  greatest  grief. 

Not  his  district  and  his  State  alone  recognize  the  brilliant 
intellectual  qualities  of  JOHN  E.  KENNA.  The  whole  country 
acknowledged  his  preeminent  ability.  But  it  did  not  know 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.         115 

him  as  we  knew  him — we  wno  were  his  close  and  attached 
friends.  The  whole  land  admired  him ;  but  love,  warm  and 
devoted,  was  mingled  with  our  admiration. 

]Sot  anywhere  in  the  pages  of  romance,  not  anywhere  in  the 
legends  which  tell  of  chivalry  and  knighthood,  can  be  found 
passages  challenging  our  admiration  more  strongly  than  do 
the  achievements  which  make  up  the  life  story  of  him  who 
has  gone  from  us. 

JOHN  E.  KENNA  was  literally  the  child  of  the  State.  The 
community  in  which  he  lived  adopted  him  when  a  poor  and 
friendless  orphan  boy,  protected  him  in  his  youth,  and  pro- 
moted him  as  his  deserving  demanded  advancement.  And 
never  did  devoted  son  make  fuller  and  more  loyal  return  to 
loving  mother  than  did  Senator  KENNA  to  the  State  he  served. 
He  gloried  in  her  material  prosperity,  a  condition  he  labored 
most  zealously  to  advance,  and  he  loved  her  mountains,  her 
valleys,  and  her  streams.  More  than  all  else,  he  loved  her 
people,  and  in  their  behalf  no  effort  was  too  exacting,  no  labor 
too  arduous. 

At  the  coming  together  of  the  Forty-fifth  Congress  his  State 
sent  as  one  of  her  Representatives  here  this  broad-browed 
young  man,  with  a  soul  as  pure  as  her  own  mountain  streams 
and  a  heart  as  generous  and  as  loyal  as  ever  throbbed  on  earth. 
At  once  he  took  front  rank  in  the  galaxy  of  brilliant  young 
men  and  bright  new  members  that  helped  to  make  that  Con- 
gress memorable  in  parliamentary  annals.  The  rest  of  the 
history  of  his  comparatively  brief  life  has  been  told  us  to-night 
and  is  known  to  the  people  of  the  whole  laud.  The  records  of 
this  House  and  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  show  how 
faithfully  he  labored,  not  only  for  the  people  whose  immediate 
representative  he  was,  but  for  the  triumph  of  those  principles 
and  practices  of  government  in  which  he  sincerely  believed. 

He  had  a  firm  and  unyielding  faith  in  his  fellow-men.   Indeed, 


116         Address  of  Mr.  Covert,  of  New  York,  on  the 

his  character  was  a  most  exquisite  and  harmonious  blending 
of  qualities,  each  one  most  admirable  in  itself.  The  generous 
heart  of  the  impulsive  boy  and  the  brain  of  the  intellectual 
giant  were  both  his,  and  a  pervading  cheerfulness  and  bright- 
ness were  with  him  qualities  of  heart  and  mind  alike. 

Indeed,  it  may  be  said  of  Senator  KENNA  as  it  was  spoken 
of  a  distinguished  French  author,  that  whatever  might  have 
been  the  conditions  that  surrounded  him,  "he  went  through 
life  with  a  smile  in  his  soul." 

In  my  room  the  other  evening  a  mutual  friend  speculated 
with  me  upon  what  Mr.  KENNA'S  life  would  have  been  had 
it  been  lived  in  another  land  than  ours.  Proud  of  his  Irish 
ancestry,  had  his  lot  been  cast  on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean  he 
would  doubtless  have  been  found  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle 
for  the  larger  liberty  of  the  land  of  his  fathers;  and  in  a  con- 
test such  as  this  he  would  have  been  the  champion  of  cham- 
pions, for  JOHN  E.  KENNA  believed  in  the  fullest  possible  free- 
dom of  thought  and  action.  "He  was  a  bigot  only  in  his 
hatred  of  bigotry." 

Whatever  he  might  have  accomplished  under  other  condi- 
tions and  with  other  environments,  it  is  well  for  us  that  the 
land  of  his  birth  and  of  his  home  was  free  America.  His  life 
record  should  teach  us  many  lessons,  and  it  has  surely  served 
as  a  guide  and  chart  to  others.  It  should  encourage  any  father 
in  this  land,  however  poor  and  lowly  he  may  be,  laudably  ambi- 
tious for  the  future  of  his  boy,  to  say  to  him:  "I  may  not  be 
able  to  leave  you  any  fortune,  I  may  have  no  money  to  bequeath 
to  you  when  I  am  gone,  I  may  not  leave  to  you  a  'claim  of  long- 
descent,'  but  I  can  leave  to  you  and  I  will  leave  to  you  that 
most  priceless  of  all  legacies,  the  heritage  of  American  citi- 
zenship, with  all  its  glorious  possibilities."  And  the  bright, 
ambitious  boy,  looking  to  the  life  story  of  JOHN  E.  KENNA, 
will  thereafter  see  fewer  "lions  in  the  path"  and  fewer  thorns 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.         117 

in  the  way  as  lie  struggles  onward  and  upward  toward  the  reali- 
zation of  his  ideals. 

Reference  has  been  made  by  the  gentleman  who  preceded  me 
[Mr.  PENDLETON]  to  the  fact  that  Senator  KENNA  died  at  an 
age  when  most  great  men  had  not  achieved  their  highest  meas- 
ure of  distinction.  It  is  true  indeed  that  with  him  the  sun  had 
set  before  it  was  midday.  But — 

Better  fifty  years  of  Europe 
Than  a  cycle  of  Cathay. 

Better — infinitely  better — the  short  span  lived  by  JOHN  E. 
KENNA,  amid  the  honorable  activities  of  life,  than  lengthened 
days  passed  within  narrower  environments  and  in  the  pursuit 
of  more  sordid  ends. 

Just  as  a  weary  child,  pillowing  its  head  upon  the  warm 
bosom  of  a  fond  mother,  passes  to  repose,  so  West  Virginia's 
dead  Senator  rests  to-night  beneath  the  sod  of  the  State  to 
which  he  was  so  devotedly  attached,  for  whose  advancement  he 
labored,  and  in  whose  service  he  died.  He  had  lived  an  earnest, 
noble  life.  He  still  lives,  and  will  live  while  memory  lasts,  in 
the  hearts  of  countless  friends,  while  imperishable  history  will 
forever  keep  his  memory  green. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  CARUTH,  OF  KENTUCKY. 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  I  esteem  it  an  honor  to  pay  a  tribute  of 
respect  to  the  memory  of  so  distinguished  a  statesman  as 
JOHN  E.  KENNA,  of  West  Virginia. 

It  was  at  the  close  of  the  Congressional  elections  of  1SSG 
that  I  sought  to  regain  health  and  strength,  after  the  toils  and 
cares  of  a  political  contest,  which  had  ended  by  my  being- 
accredited  here  as  a  member  of  this  body.  On  the  train  on 


118         Address  of  Mr.  Caruth,  of  Kentucky,  on  the 

which  I  journeyed  to  the  seashore  I  first  met  the  mail  whose 
untimely  death  a  nation  mourns.  Of  course  I  knew  him  by 
reputation.  Indeed  he  was,  during  the  contest  which  had  just 
ended,  at  the  head  of  the  Congressional  executive  committee 
of  the  party  whose  candidate  I  had  been  in  the  district  in 
which  I  lived. 

This  alone  would  have  attracted  my  attention  to  him;  but 
when  to  this  was  added  my  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  he  had 
served  three  terms  in  the  lower  House — its  youngest  member — 
and  had  so  won  fame  and  honor  that  his  people  had,  after 
electing  him  for  the  fourth  time  to  a  seat  in  this  body,  chosen 
him,  before  he  had  even  entered  upon  that  term,  as  a  Senator 
from  his  State,  and  when  I  recalled  the  further  fact  that, 
although  the  youngest  member  of  that  dignified  body  of  states- 
men, he  had  at  once  taken  rank  and  forged  to  the  front  as 
legislator  and  as  lawyer,  I  was  prepared  to  admire  and  respect 
him.  No  man  was  more  congenial  or  cordial  in  the  intercourse 
of  private  life. 

I  was  of  course  charmed  and  fascinated  by  his  personality, 
and  before  that  journey  terminated  there  had  sprung  up 
between  us  an  acquaintance  which  soon  became  friendship, 
a  friendship  rendered  nearer  and  dearer  as  the  months  and 
years  ripened  and  died  into  the  past. 

It  was  my  misfortune  to  be  stretched  on  a  bed  of  illness  in 
nry  Kentucky  home  when  the  news  flashed  over  the  wires  that 
this  man,  who  had  made  his  name  renowned  and  his  State  dis- 
tinguished, had  been  called  from  the  pains  and  sufferings  of 
life  to  the  rest  eternal.  I  could  not  stand  by  the  bier  of  my 
friend,  or  pay  the  last  mournful  tribute  the  living  can  pay  the 
dead,  but  my  heart  went  out  in  sorrow  to  that  loving  wife,  to 
the  dear  children  who  had  thus  been  bereft,  and  I  mourned 
over  the  loss  to  his  State  and  his  country.  He  was  stricken 
down  full  of  honors,  but  not  full  of  years. 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.         119 

I  have  sometimes  thought  it  is  well  to  die  as  KENNA  died, 
whilst  the  laurel  on  his  brow  was  green  and  fresh,  and  not  to 
linger  on  till  the  wreath  has  withered,  until  one's  days  of  use- 
fulness are  over,  and  he  "lags  superfluous  on  the  stage." 
KENNA  died  before  forty- five  years  of  life  were  his.  He  had 
been  soldier,  lawyer,  Congressman,  Senator,  and  in  every  sta- 
tion of  life  he  had  so  discharged  his  duty  as  to  win  the  esteem 
and  admiration  of  his  fellows.  It  was  a  wonderful  career ! 

Some  of  the  scenes  of  his  eventful  life  pass  now  before  my 
mind's  eye.  I  see  him  the  fatherless  boy  at  eight,  thoughtful 
of  mother  and  of  sisters,  looking  forward  to  the  time  when 
they  should  lean  for  support  upon  his  loving  arm.  I  see  him  at 
sixteen,  listening  to  the  call  of  duty  and  offering  his  services, 
if  needs  be  his  life,  to  the  cause  he  had  espoused.  I  see  him 
returning,  after  the  banner  he  had  helped  to  bear  aloft  was 
trailed  in  the  dust  of  defeat,  impoverished,  but  yet  full  of  cour- 
age, determined  that  success  should  yet  be  his,  determined 
that  he — 

Would  not  die  like  a  dull  worm — to  rot, 
Thrust  foully  into  earth,  to  be  forgot ; 

but  that  his  name  and  his  fame  should  outlive  his  life.  I  see 
him  building  his  own  fire,  cooking  his  own  food,  working  late 
into  the  night  to  equip  himself  for  the  practice  of  his  chosen 
profession.  I  see  him,  the  young  lawyer,  chosen  by  his  people 
to  prosecute  the  offenders  against  justice,  upholding  with  elo- 
quence and  with  power  the  majesty  of  the  law. 

Before  me,  too,  appears  this  great  scene  in  his  life.  When 
a  beardless  stripling  he  announced  himself  a  candidate  for  a 
seat  ill  this  body.  His  neighbors,  who  had  known  him  long, 
but  who  thought  wisdom  could  come  only  with  years  and 
knowledge  with  gray  hairs,  shook  their  heads  and  said:  "He 
is  too  young,  too  inexperienced." 


120         Address  of  Mr.  Caruth,  of  Kentucky,  on  the 

Doubtless  at  this  time  lie  had  hours  of  deepest  sorrow,  when 
he  yearned  for  the  encouragement  of  a  friendly  voice,  the 
strength  of  a  friendly  hand.  These  were  times  when  despair 
seized  his  soul  and  hope  seemed  dead.  Alas !  how  great  was 
the  struggle. 

For  who  can  tell  how  hard  it  is  to  climb 

The  steep  where  Fame's  proud  temple  shines  afar? 

Ah !  who  can  tell  how  many  a  soul  sublime 
Has  felt  the  influence  of  malignant  star 

And  waged  with  fortune  an  eternal  war? 

The  brave,  ambitious,  and  determined  spirit  of  JOHN  E. 
KENNA  did  not  yield  to  despair,  but  facing  that  people  he  told 
the  pathetic  story  of  his  life;  he  pictured  his  struggles  and 
his  hopes,  and  opposition  melted  before  him.  He  came  to  the 
House;  he  won  the  praise  of  his  elders;  he  gained  the  love  of 
his  people.  He  was  sent  to  the  Senate,  age  respected  him; 
wisdom  acknowledged  his  fellowship;  the  Senators  admired 
him.  His  sun  of  glory  was  shining;  it  could  be  dimmed  only 
by  the  darkness  of  death. 

Unlike  many  of  those  who  have  risen  to  distinction  among 
their  fellow-men,  he  lost  none  of  those  personal  traits  which 
endear  them  to  those  about  them,  but  loved  to  mingle  with 
them  on  the  most  social  and  friendly  terms. 

With  him  life  was  not  made  to  be  a  dreary,  forbidding 
thing,  but  bright  and  beautiful  and  happy.  He  felt  that  it 
was  our  duty  in  life — 

To  pluck  the  flowers  that  round  us  blow, 
Scattering  our  fragrance  as  we  go — 

and  all  who  knew  him  will  bear  testimony  that  he  made  the 
life  of  those  with  whom  he  associated  brighter  and  happier 
when  he  was  with  them. 

JOHN  E.  KENNA  was  an  orator,  not  one  of  those  who  depend 
upon  rhetorical  arts  for  effect,  and  study  pretty  phrases  to 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.        121 

please  the  ear,  but  one  gifted  with  the  eloquence  of  earnest- 
ness and  the  power  of  speech  which  moves  the  hearts  and 
judgment  of  men.  The  records  of  this  House  and  the  Senate 
contain  upon  their  pages  the  evidence  of  his  power  as  a 
speaker.  He  touched  no  subject  which  he  did  not  illuminate 
with  his  wisdom,  and  men  who  listened  to  his  utterances  were 
made  wiser  by  the  hearing. 

But  the  genial,  social  KENNA — "in  wit  a  man,  simplicity  a 
child" — is  no  more.  The  tender,  loving  husband,  the  doting 
father,  will  sit  no  more  at  the  family  fireside  or  gather  the 
loved  ones  to  his  arms.  The  wise  legislator  will  no  more  place 
his  imprint  upon  his  country's  laws.  The  great  orator  will  no 
more  lift  his  voice  in  the  people's  cause  on  the  hustings  or  in 
Congress  halls.  Life  holds  him  to  earth  no  more.  "The 
mortal  has  put  on  immortality ; "  the  spirit  has  returned  to  the 
God  who  gave  it;  and  eternity  will  reward  with  blessings  and 
happiness  forevermore  he  whose  earthly  career  benefited  all 
and  injured  none. 

His  body  lies  in  the  soil  of  his  native  State,  but  his  fame  is 
the  property  of  the  Eepublic. 

The  people  who  loved  him,  the  State  he  honored,  will  place 
in  yonder  Memorial  Hall  between  the  House  and  the  Senate, 
in  both  of  which  bodies  he  served  with  so  much  distinction, 
his  marble  form;  and  the  youth  of  America  in  ages  yet  to 
co.  e  will  gaze  on  his  features  and,  remembering  his  career, 
will  take  up  more  cheerfully  the  burden  of  life  and  set  out  on 
the  course  before  them  with  renewed  courage  and  hope. 

He  did  not  seek  to  gather  the  wealth  of  earth.  His  thirst 
was  for  fame,  not  gold.  He  leaves  no  riches,  such  as  the 
world  counts  riches,  to  wife  or  children,  but  he  does  leave  a 
heritage  which  gold  could  never  buy — a  stainless  reputation 
and  a  deathless  name. 


122        Address  of  Mr.  Fellows,  of  New  York,  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  FELLOWS,  OF  NEW  YORK, 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  These  "ist-flyiug  moments  remind  me  that 
the  tribute  I  shall  pay  to-night  must  be  limited  to  the  utterance 
of  very  few  words.  In  the  busy  rush  and  activity  of  duty  we 
may  not  even  pause  too  long  by  the  tomb.  The  obligations  we 
owe  the  living  supersede  those  we  owe  the  dead,  and  those 
obligations  must  be  discharged,  however  deep  the  emotions  or 
profound  the  sentiments  which  would  lead  us  to  express  our 
sorrow  at  the  loss  of  one  who  has  borne  so  large  a  part  of  the 
burden  and  been  so  conspicuous  in  life's  battle  as  he  whose 
memory  we  honor  to-night. 

Besides,  sir,  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  can  bring  to  an  occa- 
sion of  this  kind  that  decorum  and  calm  composure  which 
should  always  be  the  attributes  of  public  speech.  Not  when  I 
stand  by  the  grave  which  holds  all  that  could  die  of  one  I  loved 
with  a  brother's  love,  can  I  command  those  faculties  of  brain 
and  judgment  which  will  fashion  speech  to  appropriate  form. 
Here  the  heart  and  the  emotion,  rather  than  the  intellect,  seek 
expression,  and  it  is  of  the  friend  and  not  the  statesman  I 
speak  to-night. 

It  was  under  the  direct  auspices  of  Mr.  KENNA  that  I  first 
visited  West  Virginia  and  became  acquainted  with  her  people. 
It  was  as  his  guest  at  his  home,  at  frequently  recurring  peri- 
ods since  that  time,  in  the  political  battles  which  have  mar- 
shaled forces  in  this  Republic,  that  it  was  my  privilege,  at  his 
fireside  and  his  table,  to  share  his  companionship.  I  learned 
to  know  him  well;  and  to  those  who  knew  him,  that  is  equiva- 
lent to  saying  that  I  loved  him  very  dearly;  and  one  of  the 
happiest  recollections  of  my  life  shall  be  that  I  believe  JOHN 
E.  KENNA  loved  me  too.  It  is  very  much  to  the  credit  of  any 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kennct.        123 

man,  whoever  he  may  be,  who  is  found  worthy  to  have  shared 
the  friendship  and  affection  of  JOHN  E.  KENNA. 

I  shall  not  talk  of  the  statesman.  It  would  be  an  unjust 
criticism  upon  the  noble  State  which  invested  him  with  her 
higher  dignities  to  assume  for  one  moment  that  he  was  not 
fully  equal  to  every  position  to  which  he  was  called;  but  I 
shall  speak  of  him  only  a  moment  or  two  to-night  as  I  love 
best  to  think  of  him. 

He  was  a  man  who  won  the  love  of  his  fellows.  I  wonder, 
sir,  if  in  the  clash  of  life's  mad  ambitious,  if  in  the  rush  of 
the  pursuits  of  which  all  of  us  are  a  part,  we  ever  stop  to  think 
how  much  that  implies.  The  honors  and  distinctions,  the  loyal 
wreaths  of  life,  its  wealth  and  emoluments,  those  things  which 
most  excite  and  animate  men,  we  understand  perfectly  well; 
but  I  am  one  of  those  who  believe  that  the  gratification  of 
every  ambition  of  that  kind  brings  to  no  individual  so  much 
of  real  happiness  and  contributes  to  earth  not  nearly  so  much 
of  benefaction  as  the  life  and  career  of  one  who  so  lives  that 
he  wins  the  love  and  esteem  of  others. 

Little  children  grew  up  in  the  presence  of  JOHN  E.  KENNA 
and  deemed  him  always  their  friend;  and  there  can  be  no 
higher  evidence  of  a  man's  quality  than  that.  He  never  went 
to  bed  at  night  without  the  consciousness  that  he  had  assuaged 
some  sorrow,  alleviated  some  woe,  poured  some  little  of  the 
pure  wine  of  life  into  the  cup  of  some  one  who  otherwise  would 
have  tasted  only  life's  bitter  dregs  and  lees. 

Others  shall  speak  of  him  as  a  statesman.  Comrades  now 
fast  dying  will  love  to  recall  him  as  comrade  in  the  bitter  hours 
of  trial.  They  will  place  his  marble  monument  in  yonder  hall, 
consecrated  to  the  effigies  of  those  whom  States  deem  most 
worthy  to  honor;  but  surviving  all  other  distinctions  that  he 
won,  leading  the  entire  procession,  they  shall  write  of  JOHN 
E.  KENNA,  as  the  angel  wrote  of  Ben  Adhem,  he  was  one  who 
loved  his  fellow-men. 


124         Address  of  Mr.  Springer,  of  Illinois,  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  SPRINGER,  OF  ILLINOIS. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  In  the  closing  hours  of  the  last  session  of  this 
Congress,  when  business  of  the  greatest  importance  is  pressing 
upon  us  and  demanding  every  moment  of  our  time,  it  seems 
almost  impossible  to  pause  for  sufficient  length  of  time  to  do 
justice  to  the  deeds  and  memory  of  JOHN  E.  KENNA.  But  I  can 
not  permit  this  occasion  to  pass,  however  precious  the  time  may 
be,  without  contributing  my  testimony,  however  briefly  it  may 
be  stated,  to  the  noble  character,  the  spotless  integrity,  and  dis- 
tinguished ability  of  our  deceased  friend. 

Surely  in  the  very  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death.  Our 
lamented  friend  has  fallen  in  the  prime  of  manhood,  in  the 
very  hour  of  his  greatest  opportunities  for  usefulness;  in  a  time 
when  his  State  and  his  country  had  the  greatest  reason  to 
believe  that  he  would  be  able  to  confer  lasting  blessings  upon 
them  and  meet  the  highest  expectations  of  his  family  and 
friends  in  the  attainment  of  honorable  distinction. 

It  is  a  strange  and  unaccountable  Providence  that  removes 
from  our  midst  those  best  fitted  by  training,  by  ability,  and  by 
the  highest  attributes  of  true  manhood  for  noble  work,  for 
valuable  services  in  the  cause  of  the  state  and  in  behalf  of  man- 
kind. But  we  are  not  presumed  to  know  the  mysteries  of  the 
Infinite,  nor  is  it  best  that  we  should  know.  We  must  accept 
the  Divine  decree,  knowing  that  He  who  created  us  and  gave 
us  life  and  being  doeth  all  things  well. 

That  life  is  long  which  answers  life's  great  end. 

We  can  not  measure  the  life  of  JOHN  E.  KENNA  by  the 
years  which  he  has  lived.  His  deeds,  his  achievements  have 
already  answered  the  great  end  of  life.  He  was  elected  a  mem- 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kcnna.         1 25 

ber  of  this  House  when  only  twenty-eight  years  old,  and  was 
transferred  to  the  Senate  seven  years  later.  He  had  scarcely 
reached  the  age  of  forty-five  when  his  life's  labors  were  ended. 
We  can  hardly  realize  that  he  has  gone  from  our  midst,  never 
to  return  again . 

Many  of  those  about  me  remember  his  services  as  a  member 
of  this  House.  We  who  had  the  honor  to  serve  with  him 
remember  his  many  acts  of  kindness  to  his  fellow-members. 
He  was  uniformly  kind  and  urbane  to  all.  He  maintained  at 
all  times  a  judicial  poise,  a  noble  bearing,  and  a  quiet  dignity. 
Although  one  of  the  youngest  if  not  the  youngest  member  of 
the  House,  he  at  once  took  rank  with  those  of  maturer  years 
and  long  experience.  He  had  few  equals  in  debate,  and  his 
words  always  commanded  the  attention  of  the  House.  He  was 
a  forcible  speaker,  and  at  times  eloquent.  But  his  genial 
manner  and  kindly  treatment  of  his  fellow-members  won  for 
him  the  admiration  and  love  of  all. 

We  sincerely  deplore  his  loss.  By  his  State  and  country  it 
will  be  deeply  felt  and  long  deplored.  But  to  his  wife  and 
family  his  loss  is  irreparable.  He  was  a  devoted  husband,  a 
kind  father,  a  noble  friend. 

Our  words  of  eulogy  can  not 

Soothe  the  dull  cold  ear  of  death. 

Perhaps  it  may,  however,  be  some  consolation  to  his  bereaved 
wife  and  family  to  know  that  others  mourn  his  untimely  death ; 
that  those  who  knew  him  when  he  was  away  from  the  family 
circle  also  learned  to  love  him;  that  others  will  cherish  his 
memory ;  that  other  hearts  bled  and  other  eyes  were  filled  with 
tears  when  his  spirit  took  its  everlasting  flight  and  his  body 
was  consigned  to  the  silent  tomb. 

But  is  this  all!  Are  our  thoughts  to  cluster  alone  about 
his  grave,  and  to  contemplate  the  processes  of  nature  by  which 
earth  returns  to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes?  No;  not  so.  There  is 


120         Address  of  Mr.  Mansur,  of  Missouri,  on  the 

a  lite  beyond  the  grave;  a  life  which  our  deceased  brother 
lives  to-night;  a  life  not  broken  or  marred  by  partings  or 
sighs;  a  life  of  eternal  happiness.  May  we  who  still  pursue 
our  earthly  way  so  improve  our  opportunities  that  we  may 
live  hereafter  that  better  life  beyond  the  tomb. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR,  MANSUR,  OF  MISSOURI. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  There  is  mourning  in  West  Virginia.  Mourn- 
ing in  the  valley  and  on  the  mountain  top,  in  cabin,  mansion, 
and  statehouse;  for  a  mighty  man  in  Israel  has  fallen;  fallen 
in  the  plenitude  of  his  fame,  fallen  while  yet  in  the  meridian 
of  life,  fallen  while  the  future  was  still  roseate  with  honors, 
that  needed  but  time  to  permit  their  plucking;  for,  from  past 
deeds  achieved,  there  was  nothing  in  the  political  arena  to 
which  JOHN  E.  KENNA  might  not  have  aspired,  had  three-score 
and  ten  years  crowned  his  life. 

Away  beyond  the  Father  of  Waters  there  is  mourning  also, 
for  in  Carroll  County,  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  in  my  own  dis- 
trict, Senator  KENNA  resided  while  a  lad,  and  left  that  State 
to  enter  the  Confederate  service. 

Loving  kindred  there  abide  with  whom  the  dead  Senator  lived 
when  a  lad ;  also  old  settlers,  who  knew  the  bright  and  win- 
some youth,  and  who  in  later  years  crooned  with  delight  as 
they  murmured  his  praise  and  watched  his  onward  and  upward 
night  to  greatness.  All  these,  with  thousands  of  others  the 
Union  over,  mourn  and  lament  with  the  people  of  West  Vir- 
ginia in  their  sadness. 

In  a  recent  letter  written  to  me  by  his  uncle,  James  V.  Lewis, 
at  present  the  sheriff  of  Carroll  County,  Mo.,  are  given  some 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.         1 27 

of  the  incidents  and  trials  of  his  early  life,  which  I  here  incor- 
porate as  a  part  of  iny  remarks : 

CARROLLTON.  Mo.,  March  5,  1893. 

DEAR  SIR:  Yonrs  of  recent date  asking  me  for  a brief  sketch  of  Johnnie's 
lite  while  in  Missouri  received  yesterday,  and  in  answer  would  say  that 
myself  and  wife,  knowing  that  sister,  Johnnie's  mother,  then  Mrs.  Kenua, 
had  nothing  on  which  to  support  herself  and  three  children,  invited  IKT 
to  come  to  Missouri  and  make  her  home  with  us ;  and  accepting  our  invi- 
tation, they  arrived  at  our  house,  near  Lexington,  Lafayette  County,  in 
April,  1858.  Johnnie,  her  only  son  and  eldest  child,  at  that  time  was  9 
years  old. 

We  moved  to  Carroll  County  in  1860  on  a  raw  tract  of  240  acres  prairie 
land,  and  Johnnie  helped  me  to  improve  the  farm.  He  worked  hard  and 
drove  four  yoke  of  oxen  drawing  a  prairie  plow.  In  1863  or  1864,  I  think 
it  was  on  one  of  Gen.  Price's  raids,  some  of  Shelby's  men  crossed  over  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Missouri  River,  and  Johnnie,  still  a  boy  only  about 
15  years  old,  joined  them  and  went  out  near  where  the  town  of  Norborne 
now  stands  to  capture  some  Federals;  and  in  the  fight  which  ensued  John 
was  shot  through  the  left  arm  and  wounded  pretty  severely.  He  canie  by 
my  house  that  night,  and  myAvife  dressed  and  bandaged  his  arm  and  tried 
to  get  him  not  to  go  until  his  arm  was  healed,  as  she  loved  him  as  one  of 
her  own  children,  but  he  laughed  and  said  it  was  not  much  of  a  wound; 
that  the  bone  was  not  broken. 

He  went  on  that  night  and  crossed  the  river  and  joined  (Jen.  Shelby's 
command  the  next  day,  we  hearing  nothing  more  from  him  until  the 
war  closed,  when  he  returned  to  my  house,  and  finding  all  of  us  gone 
and  learning  that  his  mother  was  in  Virginia  he  returned  there,  having 
accepted  the  money  on  which  to  make  the  trip  from  a  friend  of  mine  ' 
acquainted  with  the  circumstances  at  the  time. 

Myself  and  wife  loved  Johnnie  as  one  of  our  own  children,  he  was  so 
kind  and  respectful  to  us.  It  really  seemed  to  me  that  it  was  a  pleasure 
to  him  to  do  whatever  he  could  to  please  us.  This  is  a  brief  sketch  of  his 
life  while  in  Missouri.  Of  his  subsequent  life  you  are  well  acquainted. 
Wishing  you  godspeed,  I  am. 
Yours,  respectfully. 

J.  V.  LEWIS. 

Hon.  C.  H.  MAXSUR,  Jl'astnnf/ton,  J).  ('. 

"Johnnie!"  To  his  aged  uncle  and  aunt  he  is  still  " John- 
nie," for  they  "loved  him  as  one  of  their  own  children,"  for  "it 
was  a  pleasure  for  him  to  do  whatever  he  could  to  please  his 
uncle  and  aunt."  There  is  woe  and  sorrow  in  their  hearts  at 
"Johnnie's"  death.  In  this  simple  tribute  we  have  the  char- 


128        Address  of  Mr.  Mansur,  of  Missouri,  on  the 

acteristics  in  the  child  that  later  in  life  made  the  man  so  charm 
ing,  so  lovable  to  all  who  knew  him. 

In  the  summer  of  1865,  after  the  war  closed,-  and  after  his 
return  to  Carroll  County,  Mo.,  when  only  a  little  over  seventeen 
years  of  age,  he  applied  to  Hall  &  Eads,  of  Carrollton,  Mo., 
an  eminent  firm  of  lawyers,  to  study  law  in  their  office,  and 
made  all  arrangements  to  do  so,  showing  an  earnest  anxiety  to 
enter  upon  his  chosen  profession.  Some  two  weeks  later  he  gave 
up  that  intention  to  return  to  West  Virgina.  In  this  country, 
prolific  as  it  has  been  of  great  intellectual  careers,  there  are  few 
that  shine  with  greater  brilliancy,  or  where  more  was  achieved 
under  adverse  circumstances  or  more  enduring  fame  in  a  shorter 
period  of  life. 

At  eighteen  years  of  age,  without  money  or  powerful  friends, 
wholly  without  education,  save  the  simple  art  of  reading  and 
writing.  In  the  next  twenty-five  years  he  did  this :  gained  a 
liberal  education,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  became  prosecuting 
attorney  of  the  capital  county  of  his  State,  thence  to  be  judge, 
Representative  in  Congress,  and  Senator;  to  die  when  not  yet 
forty-five  years  of  age.  Six  years  a  member  of  this  House  and 
ten  years  in  the  United  States  Senate  attest  the  wonderful 
virility  of  his  intellectual  powers. 

Fourty-four  States  adorn  the  arch  of  the  Union.  All  save 
West  Virginia  were  born  and  admitted  into  the  Union  in  a  time 
of  peace  and  by  peaceful  methods.  When  a  mighty  internecine 
war  was  raging,  when  two  millions  of  armed  men  were  strug- 
gling for  supremacy,  when  hatred,  passion,  and  malevolence 
filled  the  land,  West  Virginia,  by  the  Csesarean  operation  of 
war,  was  cleft  from  the  South — riven  from  the  heart  and  side 
of  Virginia;  made  an  independent  sovereign  State;  admitted 
into  the  Union  to  take  rank  as  a  loyal  commonwealth. 

The  great  mass  of  her  citizens  in  unison  with  the  asunder- 
iugof  West  Virginia;  therefore  patriotic,  loyal  to  the  Consti- 


Life  and  Oiaracter  of  John  Edward  Kenna.         129 

tution  and  tlie  Union,  it  is  surprising,  nay,  astonishing,  that  an. 
unlettered,  uneducated  youth  of  eighteen  who  had  fought  with 
all  the  fiery  zeal  of  an  ardent  boy  to  destroy  and  overturn  that 
cause,  that  Union,  that  evoked  West  Yirginia  into  existence, 
could  enter  that  State,  forlorn,  penniless,  friendless,  and  unlet- 
tered, overcome  that  political  hatred,  dissipate  that  passion, 
that  malevolence,  and  in  the  short  period  of  eleven  years  be 
her  trusted  representative  in  the  lower  House  of  Congress,  and 
six  years  later,  by  the  loving  fealty  of  her  people,  their  honored 
and  adored  Senator. 

Mr.  Speaker.  I  know  not  where  to  turn  for  an  illustration  of 
greater  achievements  under  more  adverse  conditions  in  so  short 
a  time.  Unlettered,  he  became  learned;  friendless,  his  friends 
were  legion;  forlorn  and  penniless,  life  became  brilliant,  and 
all  the  comforts  with  many  of  the  luxuries  of  life  were  his.  It 
is  the  tale  of  an  American  Aladdin's  lamp. 

Let  us  hunt  for  the  touchstones  that  gave  light  to  this  Alad- 
din's lamp.  JOHN  E.  KENNA'S  physical  frame  was  a  thing  of 
beauty,  only  paralleled  by  the  virile,  loving,  and  acute  spirit 
that  inhabited  it.  Genial,  affable,  loving  in  look  and  manner, 
all  became  his  friends  who  knew  him.  A  mind  that  could  not 
contemplate  a  dirty  action  toward  friend  or  foe,  a  mind  so  pure 
that  it  is  doubtful  if  a  deliberately  profane  or  vulgar  thought 
ever  found  a  resting  place  therein ;  an  intellect  that  year  by 
year  came  nearer  the  infinite  as  it  grew  in  strength,  incisive 
as  the  lightning,  penetrating  all  questions  considered  to  the 
heart's  core,  illuminating  all  propositions  discussed,  judging 
all  matters  of  statecraft  with  the  wisdom  of  a  statesman  and 
the  philanthropy  of  a  patriot  and  philosopher,  is  it  any  wonder 
that  he  was  a  Senator  at  thirty-five  and  dying  at  forty  four  is 
lamented  by  his  State  with  a  lamentation  that  permeates  every 
family  in  her  border,  his  fame  to  be  perpetuated  in  marble, 
fashioned  in  his  living  image,  and  placed  in  this  proud  Capitol, 
where  his  greatest  renown  was  won. 
S.  Mis.  66 9 


130        Address  of  Mr.  Mansitr,  of  Missouri,  on  the 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  preferred  to  speak  in  general  terms  of 
his  brilliant  career.  Personal  incidents  connected  with  his  life 
in  "West  Virginia  and  in  this  city  have  been  so  fully  stated  in 
the  Senate  and  upon  this  floor  that  anything  additional  upon 
niy  part  is  mere  iteration,  and  done  in  a  less  worthy  manner 
than  by  the  many  distinguished  Senators  and  Eepresentatives 
who  have  already  laid  the  tribute  of  their  heart's  affection  and 
of  their  intellectual  greatness  upon  his  bier. 

A  personal  incident  or  two,  and  I  have  done.  When  I  came 
into  this  House  in  the  Fiftieth  Congress,  Senator  KENNA 
hunted  me  and  introduced  himself — stated  in  a  most  affable, 
loving,  and  captivating  manner  that  he  was  one  of  my  con- 
stituents—from the  fact  that  he  had  lived  as  a  boy  long  years 
in  my  district,  and  that  he  should  always  consider  me  as  his 
Congressman.  Is  it  a  wonder  that  from  that  hour  I  loved  him 
and  was  his  friend? 

One  other  incident.  He  often  spoke  to  me  of  the  land 
broken  for  his  uncle,  its  beauty  and  fertility,  and  especially  of 
a  tree  planted  by  himself,  near  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
tract.  April  last,  learning  I  was  about  to  visit  Carroll  County, 
he  asked  me  if  not  too  much  trouble  would  I  visit  that  land, 
learn  if  that  tree  was  still  growing,  and  on  my  return  tell  him 
of  its  condition;  for,  said  he,  "I  love  that  tree,  I  planted  it 
with  my  own  hand  when  no  larger  than  my  thumb,  and  my 
relatives  used  to  write  me  how  it  flourished,  but  I  have  not 
heard  of  it  in  recent  years. "  I  assured  him  it  was  no  trouble, 
but  would  be  a  pleasure. 

In  company  with  his  cousin,  Sinton  Lewis,  in  May  last  I 
visited  the  land.  It  had  just  been  plowed  and  carefully  har- 
rowed. The  entire  tract  of  80  acres  was  as  smooth  and  level 
as  Pennsylvania  avenue;  not  a  clod  as  large  as  a  pint  measure 
in  sight;  the  loam  black,  glistening  in  the  evening  sun,  fecund 
as  ever  land  was  in  the  delta  of  the  Nile,  a  sight  to  make  an 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.         131 

agriculturist's  heart  laugh  with  its  promises  of  reward  for  labor 
bestowed. 

Biding  from  north  to  south  along  the  eastern  border,  we 
approached  the  "  Kenna  tree,"  as  it  is  known  in  all  that  local- 
ity, and  it,  too,  was  a  thing  of  beauty. 

In  that  rich,  prolific  soil,  exposed  on  all  sides  to  the  full 
strength  of  the  sun  and  light,  the  slender  twig  planted  by 
KENNA  had  become  the  beautiful,  towering,  and  majestic  tree; 
of  splendid  shape,  round  topped  and  well  proportioned,  there 
it  stood,  60  feet  in  height,  full  2  feet  in  diameter,  a  noble  cot- 
tonwood  that  in  the  hot  summer  made  it  a  thing  of  joy  to  all 
who  could  gain  its  restful  shade,  whether  man  or  beast.  It 
stands  alone  upon  the  wide  prairie,  a  monument  for  all  the 
region  round  about.  I  did  not  return  to  Washington  until 
about  the  middle  of  June  last.  Soon  after  I  met  Senator  KENNA, 
and  I  told  him  of  the  land  and  of  the  tree;  how  it  was  named 
and  known  in  all  that  region,  and  brought  kind  messages  from 
relatives  and  old  settlers  who  remembered  him  as  a  youth. 
For  the  moment  JOHN  E.  KENNA  was  a  youth  again,  happy  in 
living  upon  the  memories  of  his  boyhood. 

Mr.  Speaker,  after  that  I  never  saw  Senator  KENNA  again. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  WILSON,  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  I  regret  that  the  pressure  of  public  business, 
which  can  not  be  avoided  or  delayed  in  the  closing  hours  of  a 
Congress,  does  not  permit  me  to  bring  such  a  tribute  as  I 
could  wish  to  the  memory  of  my  deceased  colleague.  I  should 
like  to  give  some  narrative  of  his  life  and  some  deliberate  and 
friendly  estimate  of  Mr.  KENNA'S  remarkable  powers.  But  I 
have  the  gratification  of  knowing  that  in  the  eulogies  already 
pronounced  the  main  facts  of  his  career,  both  private  and  pub- 


132     Address  of  Mr.  Wilson,  of  West  Virginia,  on  the 

lie,  have  been  recited,  and  no  one  could  hope  to  vie  with  his 
close  and  lifelong  friend,  the  Kepresentative  of  his  old  district, 
in  the  touching  earnestness  and  affection  of  his  tribute.  My 
personal  acquaintance  with  Mr.  KENNA  began  with  my  Con- 
gressional service.  Although  we  were  both  natives  of  the 
same  State  and  active  practitioners  in  her  courts,  our  homes 
were  in  distant  sections,  and  my  own  previous  contact  with 
political  life  had  been  so  slight  that  I  had  not  met  him  until 
I  entered  the  House  just  as  he  had  been  transferred  to  a  seat 
in  the  Senate.  In  common  with  all  the  people  of  West  Vir- 
ginia, I  admired  his  ability  and  took  pride  in  the  distinction 
he  had  so  quickly  and  so  easily  won  in  that  body. 

It  did  not  require,  any  long  personal  association  with  Mr. 
KENNA  to  discover  that  he  was  a  man  richly  endowed  by 
nature,  and  that,  in  a  preeminent  degree,  his  endowment  fitted 
him  for  the  career  to  which  as  by  an  unerring  instinct  he  had 
early  devoted  himself.  Abounding  health,  an  alert  and  exceed- 
ingly vigorous  mind,  an  ardent  and  ambitious  temperament,  a 
disposition  eminently  kindly  and  sociable,  and  an  innate  and 
therefore  irrepressible  capacity  for  leadership,  these  were  a 
part  of  that  endowment. 

At  home  he  was  perfectly  at  ease  and  in  close  touch  with 
the  people,  he  shared  with  youthful  zest  in  their  sports,  he 
enjoyed  as  few  men  did  the  sharp  but  honorable  contest  and 
strategic  management  of  politics,  and  he  fought  a  political 
campaign  with  the  joyous  ardor  of  a  born  soldier.  In  Congress, 
as  a  member  of  this  House  or  a  Senator,  he  gave  himself  with 
an  equal  zeal  and  equal  mastery  to  questions  of  policy  and 
statesmanship,  and  debated  them  with  a  power  for  instruc- 
tion that  caused  his  countrymen  to  listen  to  his  utterances. 

Mr.  Speaker,  there  was  something  peculiarly  and  inexpress- 
ibly pathetic  in  the  gradual  wasting  away  of  such  superb 
bodily  vigor  as  JOHN  E.  KENNA  possessed  until  the  past  year 


Life  and  Character  of  John  Edward  Kenna.         133 

or  two.  Almost  to  the  last  day  of  his  life  his  friends  hoped 
that  the  decline  would  be  stayed  and  that  they  should  see  him 
once  more  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  splendid  physical  manhood 
that  seemed  so  natural  to  him.  In  that  hope  he  long  shared. 
I  recall  to-night  how  just  before  the  end  of  the  session,  in 
August  last,  he  came  over  from  the  Senate  to  talk  with  me 
about  the  campaign  to  be  waged  in  our  own  State.  He  was 
the  warm  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Cleveland,  and  he  realized 
that  a  hard  and  possibly  a  decisive  battle  was  to  be  fought 
in  West  Virginia.  He  longed  to  take  his  full  part  in  it,  and 
believed  that  after  a  few  weeks  rest  among  his  familiar  moun- 
tains and  at  some  of  their  mineral  springs,  his  old  time  vigor 
would  return,  and  he  would  be  able  to  plunge  into  the  thickest 
of  the  fight.  I  encouraged  his  faith  although  I  could  scarcely 
share  in  his  hope.  His  wasted  body  and  the  deep  lines  which 
suffering  had  written  on  his  face  seemed  to  mock  his  cheerful 
and  resolute  utterances. 

Had  he  found  the  tealth  he  longed  for  there  is  no  doubt  that 
he  would  have  led  in  that  battle  with  more  than  his  wonted 
vigor  and  defiance  of  fatigue. 

Had  his  life  been  continued  there  is  no  doubt  he  would  have 
kept  his  rank  among  the  leaders  of  his  party  and  with  the 
foremost  public  men  of  the  day. 

His  loss  is  a  loss  to  his  country.  To  his  State  it  is  a  bereave- 
ment, felt  and  expressed  by  all  classes  and  divisions  of  her 
people. 

The  SPEAKER,  if  no  other  gentleman  desires  to  submit 
remarks,  the  question  is  upon  agreeing  to  the  resolution. 

The  resolution  was  unanimously  agreed  to. 

O 


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